What! Yet Another 'Annabeth Goes To Goode' Sequel!
by emblah01
Summary: SEQUEL TO "WHAT! YET ANOTHER 'ANNABETH GOES TO GOODE' STORY!" They're ba-ack! Percy and Annabeth are back at Goode High after the Giant War for round two of high school. Hopefully, Percy won't disappear this time. Join them as they battle monsters, bullies and homework during another year of craziness at Goode. Rated T for a reason. Now DISCONTINUED!
1. Chapter 1

**THIS IS THE SEQUEL! Please read, "What! Yet Another 'Annabeth Goes To Goode' Story" first, or this will not make any sense! Anyway, it's here! Finally! Please enjoy this very short first chapter! I love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: Wow, I own PJO?**

**RICK: No, Lou, you don't.**

**ME: Poop.**

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"Percy, I'm not completely incompetent, you know," I said as Percy offered me his hand to get out of Paul's Prius. He brushed the thicker grey streak out of my eyes. After Tartarus, our streaks were even more prominent than ever before. I smiled slightly and sighed. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me out of the car. He sighed and kissed my hair.

"I know you're not incompetent. You've proved that however many times now, but can't I just be a boyfriend every once and while and protect you?" Percy said.

"I think you've protected me enough when you fell into Tartarus for me," I said dryly.

He rolled his eyes. "Details, details," he said and waved his hand in a dismissive manner. I huffed and he chuckled. "C'mon, let's go get our schedules."

We, however, were cut off by Rowen running towards us and giving each of us a big hug. "Oh my gods! Where have you two been! They said you'd transferred schools or something, but I knew that couldn't be the case! Are you two okay?" She said all of this very fast.

I smirked, "I wouldn't say that 'okay' is the right word for how I feel right now. Maybe 'better than I was before' would be more accurate."

"What happened?" Rowen breathed.

Percy grimaced and I squeezed his hand reassuringly, "We just went to Hell and back, defeated an army of giants and their evil mother, and lost about another hundred demigods in yet another war."

Rowen was silent for a moment, her mouth hanging open. Finally, she said, "Greece couldn't have been that bad, could it?"

Percy and I exchanged glances and then burst out laughing. The humour was crude; what we were laughing about was the fact the Greece was the place where we had to kill Gaea and her evil meanies. "We didn't mean Greece when we said 'Hell'," I gasped through my laughs.

Her brows furrowed in confusion, "What did you mean then?"

I bit my lip. Percy's grip on me tightened. Tartarus was one of those 'don't talk about it and it never happened' subjects. We didn't talk about it to anyone but amongst the two of us during the secluded, stolen hours alone together. "I meant Hell, literally," Percy said and added when he saw her confusion deepen, "Tartarus."

Rowen's jaw hit the ground. She shook her head, noticing what she was doing, and cleared her throat, "Oh." Her voice was a squeak. "That, um, explains the, the grey in your, um, your hair."

I nodded slowly. "Anyway, we'd better get our schedules," I said and gave Rowen one last hug.

We were stopped one more time on our path to class by Justin and Meg. "Oh my gods! You're back! Where the hell have you been?" Meg screamed and tackled us in hugs.

They pulled back and Meg wiped her eyes. "You just... Disappeared last year."

"Disappeared is the right word," I grumbled.

Percy squeezed me. "I'm sorry. You know I didn't exactly have a choice."

"I know, I know. I hate Hera, Juno, whatever. I just hate her," I said and Percy gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

"What do you-" Justin began but was cut off by a voice.

"Hello, lovebirds. Let's keep it rated PG here, though, 'kay? Don't want a repeat of the Argo II, do we?" Leo twirled a wrench around his fingers and grinned mischievously. Don't ask me why he had a wrench, this was Leo we were talking about; one of the most random, strange people on Earth.

"Leo," Percy groaned, "we told you; we just fell asleep. Nothing happened."

"Sure, 'nothing' happened," Leo said suggestively.

I groaned, "What are you doing here, Leo?"

"Didn't we tell you?" I heard another voice say. I turned around to see a beautiful Cherokee girl with choppy brown hair braided in two loose braids at either side of her head, wearing jean cut-offs and an over-sized navy blue t-shirt. "We transferred."

"Piper! Oh my gods!" I cried and gave her a quick hug. "Let me guess, Jason's here to?"

"The one and only," I heard a deep voice say behind me. I rolled my eyes and gave Jason another quick hug before Percy came from behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He rested his head on top of mine.

"How are you guys coping?" Piper whispered to me in an undertone.

I sighed, "It's hard, but we're fine."

She studied me up and down. "No, you're not," she concluded. I shrugged and Percy kissed my cheek.

Rowen came up beside Justin and he wrapped an arm around her waist. She blushed and he kissed her cheek. "Finally!" I cried and they blushed.

"It's about freaking time!" Percy exclaimed at the same time.

Meg rolled her eyes, "I know right? I was getting very tired of the tension between the two. It was actually the day before you two, um, disappeared did they finally get together."

"Sounds like these two," someone said. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Thalia, her electric eyes shining, her sarcastic smirk the same as ever.

"Does not!" Percy retorted.

"Um, yeah, it does. It took you guys five freaking years," Thalia said. Percy did the mature thing and stuck his tongue out at her. "Kelp Head," she muttered.

"You know you missed me," Percy said.

"Yeah, I did," Thalia said. "I swear, if you ever let yourself be kidnapped for some switcheroo pulled of by a crazy cow goddess, Annabeth and I will find you and we will murder you."

Percy laughed, "Consider me warned," he quoted. I smiled into his shirt; I had missed him so much. It felt like I was whole again, now that Percy was here.

"Why hello there, Thalia," Leo said. "Reconsidering my offer?" Leo posed 'seductively' and flexed his non-existent muscles. Thalia burst out laughing.

"Is he for real?" she asked through her guffaws.

"Sadly, yes," Piper sighed.

"Shut it, Beauty Queen," Leo snapped.

Piper raised an eyebrow at him. "I told you not to call me that, Repair Boy," she snapped back.

Leo rolled his eyes, "You know you like it."

"No, actually I don't," Piper said.

"Hey guys!" said two voices at the same time. I noticed the Stolls walking in our direction. "H-Hey, Meg," Connor said nervously. Okay, that was pretty adorable.

Meg blushed and gave him a lingering hug. She pulled away but didn't unclasp her hands from behind his neck. "Where did you go after break? The same place as Percy and Annabeth?"

Connor shook his head, "No, I had to defend camp from some very pissed off Romans."

"I'm sorry, okay!" Jason and Leo said together. They stared at each other, "Stop copying me! No, you! I'm not-ugh!" They said all of this in perfect unison.

"Okay, what exactly happened over the summer and who are these people?" Justin asked. Rowen punched him in the gut.

"That was rude," she hissed.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Piper, Leo and Jason looked at each other and burst out laughing. "It's fine," Piper said, smiling a dazzling smile.

"My name is Jason, and I'm a roman demigod, which means I'm special," Jason said, and smirked. Piper shook her head sadly, mumbling, "What am I going to do with you."

"My name is Leo, supreme commander of the Argo II. And I'm also single, which means that I am free pretty much every night of the week. Team Leo for the win!" Leo said and winked at a random girl passing us by. The girl raised her eyebrows, gave him a once-over and scoffed before stalking away. Percy burst out laughing.

"Nice try, Leo. Maybe next time," Percy said and patted his head. Leo scowled at him and swiped his hand away.

"My name's Piper, and I am a daughter of Aphrodite," Piper said and grinned at everyone.

"Wait a second," Rowen said and smiled at her, "that means that you're my half-sister!"

Piper's eyes widened, "Oh my gods! You're Rowen? I remember Lacy was telling me that we had a half-sister who couldn't come to camp because of the war! It's nice to finally meet you!" Piper pulled herself away from Jason's arms and gave Rowen a hug.

"Yeah, that's me. My dad didn't want me fighting in the war without any training," Rowen said and rolled her eyes. "I wish I could have helped, though. I didn't even know there was a war that happened until this morning! Stupid, over-protective git..."

We all laughed. "Well, we'd better go get our schedules," Percy said.

"That's code for 'we have to go make out in a closet' isn't it?" Leo said with a smirk. Travis gave him a quick high-five.

"No, it isn't," Percy said. "It means 'we'd better go get our schedules." Percy rolled his eyes and we walked to the front office to get our schedules.

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**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked the first chapter!**

**I love you guys!**

**Live, Love, Laugh, and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! I'm so so sorry this darn chapter took so so darn long! I got banned from the computer for a couple of days for some reason I don't even know. My dad ticks me off sometimes, you know? Anyway, this is the chapter. I hope you like it because this took so long for some reason.**

**Disclaimer: There once was a man named Rick, and he owned PJO and HOO. My name is Lou. That means I don't own PJO or HOO. Sooo, yeah, how's life?**

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I wrapped a protective arm around Annabeth and we walked to the entrance to Goode. The smell of sweat and metal lingered amongst the throng of busy students making their way to their lockers, or classes, or to get schedules. Annabeth clung to me for dear life, as if she'd die if we got separated. And, after Tartarus, I guess we would if we ever got separated. I fought through the crowd and knocked on the office door. Mrs Gwen held up a manicured finger and continued to chat away on her Bluetooth. I sighed exasperatedly. Annabeth smiled up at me sadly and I pulled her against my body. We stood there, leaning against the wall, as we waited for Mrs Gwen to finally be done her oh-so important conversation.

"You're really tense right now," Annabeth said after a while.

I glanced at her face. Claw-like scars covered her left cheek. Her cheekbones were prominent from malnutrition and a half-healed cut was formed on herforehead, just above her right eyebrow. In other words, she looked beautiful. Beaten and worn-down, but absolutely beautiful. I traced her jaw with my index finger and she sighed contentedly. "I'm just nervous," I said after a while.

Her eyebrows furrowed (and it looked adorable, mind you), "Why?"

I shrugged and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm just scared that we're going to have to deal with yet another evil being and have save the world for a third time."

She sighed, "I think history is done being a bitch, if you know what I mean."

I laughed, "Well, that's one way of putting it." I kissed her and she kissed me back, slow, passionate.

"You can come in now!" called Mrs Gwen from inside the office. I pulled away and kissed Annabeth's hair and we walked into the dimly lit room. "Schedules, right?" Mrs Gwen peerred at us through her bejeweled spectacles. I guess she didn't approve of the way Annabeth was pulled against me. Whatever, I didn't approve of her painting her bloody nails when she should be doing her job.

We nodded. "Names?"

"Percy Jackson and this is Annabeth Chase," I said. She should know my name at least; I've called to the office enough.

She pursed her thin, red-painted lips and rifled through the stack of papers on her desk. "Here they are. Any questions or concerns, come to me at lunch," she said and handed us our schedules with her claw-like nails.

I snatched them out of her hands and handed Annabeth hers. I examined the paper, but the the letters floated around on the paper, all around, like they were swimming in some sort of letter swimming pool. "Um, could you, um, would you read mine aloud?"

"Mine too," Annabeth muttered. Our faces were bright red.

Mrs Gwen smiled understandingly. Then her eyes went wide when she saw each of our schedules. "Well, they're exactly the same, except the elective classes," she said with raised eyebrows. "First, you have Math with Mr Doyle. Next, you have Greek with Miss Hoberman-"

"She's still here!" I whined without thinking. Annabeth elbowed me in the ribs and I winced. I had broken tho not a week ago while fighting Gaea and the Giants. Her eyes went wide and she muttered and apology. I just waved my hand in a dismissive motion to show that no real damage had been made. She sighed into my side and leaned into me even more.

Mrs Gwen raised her eyebrows at our exchange. Her brown eyes sparkled in amusement, from both our exchange and my comment. "Yes, Mr Jackson, she is still teaching Greek this year. Sadly we couldn't find a replacement for her." I chuckled lightly. I could feel Annabeth smiling into my side. "Thirdly, you have Gym with Coach Hedge-"

Annabeth and I burst out laughing. "Y-You're not serious!" I stuttered through my laughter and she raised a penciled eyebrow at me.

"Yes, of course I am," she said slowly. "Why? Do you know him?"

"You could say that," Annabeth smirked and I hid a smile in her hair. We didn't care who saw our 'PDA' anymore. They could all live with it. I didn't care how many detentions I got, I wasn't letting Annabeth go.

"Well, moving on, you have Lunch after your Gym period. Then you each have your electives, which are Marin Biology with Mr Wilson and Architecture with Miss Honey, and, finally, English with Mr Blofis. Does that sound good?"

"That sounds wonderful," Annabeth smiled. "Thanks, Mrs Gwen."

"Oh, no trouble, dear, no trouble at all," she said with a smile, which quickly faded to a look of concern. "Dear, you may want to eat something or drink something. You're looking awfully faint."

My brain went into hyperdrive. _Annabeth, danger, faint,_ was all my brain registered.

"Wide Girl? Wise Girl, you okay?" I said and looked into Annabeth's face.

Her eyes were distant, glazed over, her cheeks drained of its usual natural blush. She then shook her head, "Sorry, zoned out for a second there." She gave a weak laugh and I relaxed. It was just another little blackout. We'd been having them ever since Tartarus. Chiron said that it was an after-effect of the trauma. Not everyone can survive Tartarus, those were his exact words, only the bravest and strongest do. Personally, I think it's because most don't have anyone or anything to live for when they fall into the pit. Me, I had Annabeth, and Annabeth had me. In the end, it was the other who got us out of Hell.

"Are you sure, dear? You don't need the nurse?" Mrs Gwen asked, worried.

"No, she's fine," I said with finality.

She rounded on me, "And how would you know?"

I pursed my lips and looked at Annabeth for permission. She sighed and nodded in assent. "We both went through a lot this summer. Our doctor just says that it's an after-effect of the trauma. It's nothing to worry about."

She nodded uncertainly, "Alright, get to class, you two."

We thanked her one last time and exited the office, the door slamming behind us. I took one last glance at the office, and, sure enough, Mrs Gwen was painting her nails while chatting on the phone. I shook my head sadly; some things never change.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and whirled around, pushing Annabeth behind me and my right hand into my pocket in case I needed Riptide. "Whoa, Perce. No need to attack me!" Frank said with a smirk.

I let out a breath of air and Annabeth worked her way from behind me. "Gods, Seaweed Brain, I can take care of myself," she grumbled and let me pull her body against mine.

"Sorry, it's just after, you know..." I trailed off. Frank nodded understandingly.

"No, it's cool," he said and shoved one hand into his jeans pocket. A dark skinned girl with bright golden eyes came up behind him.

"Hazel?" I asked. She grinned happily and kissed me on the cheek and gave Annabeth a quick hug.

"Hey, Perce! You honestly thought that we'd let you guys have all the fun while we train at camp? Nuh uh, no way," she said with a small smile.

"Sorry," I said as I got over my initial shock. "I just thought you'd be in San Fran with your camp."

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p'. "So what class do you have first?"

"Math," Annabeth and I said at the same time.

"Awesome," Frank said. "I am alone once again."

I smiled sadly at him, "There'll be someone in your class. There's ten of us in the same school."

"Don't you mean eleven?" a sullen, yet somehow strong voice said from behind us. I turned around and was greeted with the ghostly face of Nico do Angelo.

"Nico!" Annabeth said and gave him a hug. His cheeks turned pink. Aw, Nico got embarrassed while hugging my girlfriend. Wait, he was hugging my girlfriend? Argh, whatever, Annabeth won't ever leave me. Not after all we've been through. "What are you doing here?"

"I go to school here," Nico said flatly and flipped his hair in his emo way.

"You said that you weren't coming to school anymore," I said and he shrugged indifferently.

"Persephone was getting sick of me, I don't like Camp Jupiter that much and if I went to Camp Half-Blood, I would be forced to help with repairs," he said and scuffed his sneaker on the ground. Poor kid; he must've felt like he wasn't wanted anywhere.

"That sucks. Why wouldn't you want to help with repairs?" Frank asked.

Nico stared atmaim, his obsidian eyes piercing him, "I'm lazy." And with that he turned back to examining his shoes.

"Okay then," Frank said awkwardly. "Well, I'd better go find my locker. Nice catching up with you guys!" He and Hazel waved and walked away, holding hands. Annabeth and I walked down the hallway our lockers, which, thankfully, we're only a few apart from each other. I shoved my pencils, papers, text books and whatever else into my locker andpulled out a pen, my Math text and some loose leaf paper. I stuck the pencil behind my ear and walked over to Annabeth, whose locker was newly organized.

She turned to face me and wrapped her arms round my neck, "Hey."

"Hey," I whispered back. "You know, there's something I still need to do."

"Oh?" she asked and raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

"Hmm..." I pretended to think. "Could it be to kiss my amazing girlfriend who I love oh-so much?"

"It may just be," she whispered and kissed me. I pressed her lightly against the lockers and pulled her against my body. She smiled against my lips and knotted her fingers in my hair.

"Oi! Lovebirds!" Leo shouted in my ear.

I pulled away from Annabeth and clutched my ear. "Dude!" I exclaimed. "I can hear you perfectly fine when you talk normally."

"Yeah, well, yelling's more fun. Now hurry up! We've got Math class!" he said and started bouncing up and down on his heels.

"How do you know our schedule?" Annabeth asked incredulously, her cheeks pink and her lips red from the kiss.

"Oh, that. I took the liberty to sneaking a peek at your schedules while you were busy sucking each other's faces. Turns out we have Math, Greek and Gym together!" he said, still bouncing on his heels.

Annabeth and I groaned. "Now, c'mon," Leo said and linked arms in between us, "we don't want to be late, now do we?"

And with that, he lead us down the hallway, skipping the entire way.

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**Thanks for reading! I love Leo. Holy Hera is that him right there?!**

**LEO: Hey Lou...**

**LOU: Ohmygods, ohmygods, ohmygods!**

**LEO: So um, Lou? I've been having some trouble..?**

**LOU: *Gasps for breath after hyperventilating* Yeah?**

**LEO: Well, everyone's in a couple and well, I'm so alone...**

**ENTIRE FANGIRL POPULATION: LET ME LOVE YOU!**

**LEO: *Shrieks* I'll be in my dressing room!**

**I honestly don't know where that came from... Anyway, as always,**

** Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! I worte this at school when I was supposed to be doing grammar, but who like French grammar, anyway?! Well, Aggie does, but she's weird like that. Also, I really hated the last chapter, like, a lot. So, I was wondering if I should re-write it? YOU DECIDE IN A REVIEW!**

**Thanks so, so, so much for the amazing reviews! Seriously, 91 reviews for two chapters?! That's insane! I love you!**

**Disclaimer: ME: Hey! Look, it's a bird! No! It's a plane! No! IT'S THE RIGHTS TO PJO AND HOO! And I don't own them...**

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Annabeth's POV

"Never fear, for Leo's here!" Leo yelled and bowed deeply to the class. Everyone stared at him confusedly.

I facepalmed and said, "Leo, shut up."

"Never," he cackled and ran to the front of the class. He plopped down in a desk, right in front of the teacher's and propped his work boots on the edge of the desk. Everyone looked at him wide-eyed. I cocked an eyebrow at him. He grinned mischievously and put a single finger to his lips.

I rolled my eyes and Percy pulled me to the back of the class. We sat beside each other and he pulled me against his body. I smiled slightly and sighed. Much better. The teacher entered the classroom. "Hello, class," he said in an overly cheery voice. "This year will be, I expect, very…" his sentence faltered as he saw Leo's boots on his desk. He eyed Leo with pursed lips. "And who might you be?" he asked, venom in his voice.

Leo grinned and said in faux British accent, "Leo Valdez, dearest sir! What an honour it is to be in your presence!"

"Well, I am sure my desk would be honour if you were to remove your feet of its presence," he retorted back. "Leo Valdez, are you? I've heard about you. Kicked out of various schools, arrested, what else was there?"

Leo pursed his lips. I could tell he didn't like it that the teacher was voicing all of his wrong-doings so the whole class could hear them. "You forgot mastermind," he covered with a cheeky grin.

"Mr. Valdez-" the teacher began but was cut off by Jason and Piper barging through the door, looking distinctly ruffled.

"Sorry, Mr. Doyle! We got, um, held up," Jason said awkwardly, his cheeks colouring slightly. I hid a small chuckle. Percy was laughing silently beside me.

"Um, yeah, sorry," Piper said and smoothed her hair. It wasn't working. Her already pink cheeks flushed again and they walked slowly to the only free spaces right in the middle of the class.

"Right," Mr. Doyle said, a small smile on his face. "You got 'held up'."

The class giggled and Piper and Jason blushed again. "Yes…?" Jason said but it came out a question.

Mr. Doyle chuckled, "Just don't be late again. Now, onto today's lesson; this year, our first subject will be algebraic equations."

I tuned out the rest of the lesson; I knew all of it anyway. I could tell that Percy wasn't listening either, considering the fact that he kept twirling the grey piece of my hair around his finger and murmuring stuff into my ear, such as, 'I love you,' or 'You're so beautiful,' etc., etc. Each time he would do so, my cheeks would flush and I would smack him lightly on the chest.

Finally, the bell rang with a high-pitched, ear piercing _riiiiiing!_ I winced and gathered my books in my bag. Percy waited for me as I packed away my text, notebook and various writing utensils. "You ready?" he asked and I nodded. He grabbed my hand and led me out of the stuffy classroom. We made our way down the hall to our Greek room, number 105, and sat down in the middle back. I buried my face in Percy's shirt and waited for the class to start. I took a deep breath and was immediately calmed by the light, airy, sea-scent that filled my lungs. I had always associated Percy's scent with safety, but now, I associated it with home, something safe, comforting. It was the only familiar thing down in Tartarus and now, it was the only thing comforted me after one of my blackouts. To be honest, the blackouts scared me. I was scared that one day, I would have a blackout and not wake up. Just, be stuck in that endless pit of blackness for the rest of my life, not comprehending what was going on around me, forever stuck.

Miss Hoberman entered the class. If possible, she looked even more hideous than last year; her mousy hair was now bleached blond and permed in little piggy ringlets. She had switched from clown red lipstick to a horrid baby pink. Her blue eyeshadow was packed onto her eyes even heavier than before. Today, she wore a baby pink sundress, two sizes too small, that was decorated in little, silver beaded flowers all over her bust. A thick vinyl belt was done up a little too tight over her waist so her pudge spilled over the edges. Her baby pink Mary-Janes squeaked on the floor as she walked into the room. She smiled her sickly sweet smile. "Good morning, class," she said, her voice light and airy, but heavy at the same time.

"Good morning, Miss Hoberman," we all said lazily. She pursed her lips but didn't object. Hey, at least we actually said something.

She sat down at her desk and cleared her throat with a _'hem, hem,' _"Roll call! Roll call, everyone!"

"We heard you the first time!" someone called from the back of the class.

"Who said that?" she snapped and glared at the class. It was completely silent. I had a feeling that I knew who it was; Travis Stoll. The brothers were snickering silently in the back of the class. Connor was holding something that looked suspiciously like a blue water balloon. Oh gods, why did I have a hunch that that wasn't full of water?

"Alright, continuing with roll call," she cleared her throat again (_hem, hem_). "Adams, Will?"

A stocky boy with grey-brown hair raised his hand and grunted. She smiled a sick smile and continued, "Bones, Susan?"

A freckly, ginger girl raised her hand and squeaked out a, "Here!"

"Chase, Annabeth?"

"Here," I said through Percy's shirt.

"Chase, Annabeth?"

"Here!" I said a little louder. Her evil eyes fixed on me and her lips curled back threateningly.

"Miss Chase," she quipped in her ever-annoying voice, "I would appreciate it if you would pay attention and not demonstrate your public displays of affection in class."

I bit my bottom lip angrily; I knew that this would happen at least a couple times during the day. I switched to biting the inside of my cheek and pulled away from Percy's side. Percy fumbled for my hand and gripped it tightly as if to tell me that everything"

"Wonderful," she said with another grimace/smile thing that she had going on. I glared daggers at her. She continued with the roll call until, finally, she said, "Jackson, Percy?"

"Yuppers!" Percy said with a small wave of his hand. I saw a couple girls in the class swoon and I rolled my eyes. Percy was considered the 'misunderstood hot loser' of the school; the one that every girl wanted to understand, to love, etc., etc. Personally, it made me really uncomfortable, what with all of the jealous stares and glares girls would give me when I walked down the hallway with Percy.

"Mr. Jackson, the Greek professor," Miss Hoberman snapped. "Back for another year?"

Percy raised an eyebrow at her, "Of course I am. Where would I be without my Greek language and mythology?"

_Dead_, I thought and stifled a laugh because it was so true. Had we not known our Greek mythology, we would have died on our first quest for Zeus's bolt.

Miss Hoberman scowled at him, "Kilter, Florence?"

"Here," drawled a blond haired girl with a pinched face and hazy brown eyes.

"Monroe, Robert?"

"It's Bob," grunted a heavily built boy with short black hair and dark skin, the colour of black coffee.

"Right, Bob," Miss Hoberman snapped. "Ryan, Octavian?"

Percy's head shot up and we both raised our eyebrows as a medium sized, brown-haired boy raised his hand. I breathed out a sigh of relief; thank the gods it wasn't the annoying 'descendant of Apollo' from Camp Jupiter.

"Stoll, Connor?"

Travis stood up and said, "Connor Stoll reporting for duty, sir!" He saluted the teacher and sat back down.

"Right, Mr. Stoll, I would appreciate some respect from you," Miss Hoberman said with a beady-eyed glare. Travis nodded solemnly and bowed his head in 'shame'. "Stoll, Travis?"

"I am Travis Stoll!" Leo said.

Miss Hoberman narrowed her eyes, "No, you're not, it's that boy over there." She motioned to Connor in the back corner of the room.

"Um, no, I'm Connor," he said like it was obvious.

"What? No, you're Connor!" she said and motioned to Travis.

"Ma'am, I think you should go to the nurse; you're obviously not feeling well," Travis said with fake concern. "I have never been Connor, I've always been Travis."

"But?" Miss Hoberman said and fumed. "Ugh! That's it! You three will be serving detention with me every night this week! Report to me after school!"

Travis, Connor and Leo grumbled but thought it best not to argue. I bit back a smile at the situation; where would we be without our beloved pranksters. Well, I guess our lives would be a lot less entertaining. Especially after that one time the Stolls hid Thalia's bow and she chased them around the camp with Aegis for half an hour. Or, that one time when they stole all of Percy's underwear and hid them all over the woods. People are still finding boxers hidden in trees during Capture the Flag.

"Now, onto our lesson; last year, we covered the twelve Olympians and some basic Greek. I think we'll do a quick review on our basic mythology. I'll go around and we'll ask each student one question." She paused and let us soak that in; this was going to be so easy. "Annabeth Chase!" I looked at her and raised my eyebrows. "Who was the Greek god or goddess of the Hunt and what was his or her sacred animal?"

"Artemis, also known as Diana in Roman form, was the goddess of the Hunt and her sacred animal was the deer, specifically the stag or hind," I said in a bored tone.

She pursed her lips, like she was mad that I had succeeded in getting the question correctly. "Well done," she said in a tight, high-pitched voice. "Connor Stoll! What was Hermes the god of and what were his symbols?"

Connor snickered, "Hermes is the god of messengers, thieves, trade, travellers, and athletics and his sacred animals are the tortoise and the ram."

Miss Hoberman blinked stupidly; obviously she hadn't been expecting Connor to actually know anything. "Mr. Valdez!"

"Yeah?" Leo said lazily and rubbed his eyes of the sleep.

"Who was Poseidon the god of and what made him different from some of the gods?"

"Poseidon is the god of the sea, water, earthquakes, and sea life. What makes him different is that he is one of the three Sons of Kronos, the King of the Titans, which makes him a lot more powerful than most gods. He also has a black beard and wears Bermuda shorts," Leo said with a grin.

Miss Hoberman looked like she had swallowed a lemon, "Well-"

"Thanks for the _wonderful_ class, Miss Hoberman," Percy said with a smirk on his face. I smothered a laugh with my hand. What an idiot. Miss Hoberman was livid. Percy cackled and helped me out of my desk. He pulled me against his body and, together, we headed out of the classroom. I took a glance back and Miss Hoberman was staring at the door, her pink-painted lips pursed together so hard they were a white line and her eyes shooting daggers in our direction.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I also want to apologize! That little Leo scene at the end of the last chapter? Someone pointed out that I wasn't the one to do it first! The author of 'Yet Another Goode Story' was! I am so, so, so sorry! It was an honest mistake! I didn't mean to copy it! I APOLOGIZE! SO SORRY!**

**Sorry, once again!**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	4. Chapter 4

_**I have an excuse for being MIA for so long! I swear! I was at a dance competition all weekend and had to deal with a bunch of extra rehearsals for the competition! I'm so, so, so sorry! I honestly tried to find time to write, but then I had to go dance so, yeah... Sorry! Oh, and if anyone's interested (and I'm sure you all are... Note the sarcasm), we got all gold medals for my dances so, yeah, that was pretty awesome! Yay!**_

_**Questions:**_

_**Q: Are you Canadian, because you say 'oi' a lot?**_

_**A: Um... Yes, I am Canadian, I live in Saskatchewan. But, 'oi' is actually a British thing. It's 'eh' that's Canadian, though I have never said 'eh' in my entire life. I just say 'oi' because... I don't know, my dad says it and it's something I've picked up on.**_

_**Q: Do you like Twilight?**_

_**A: I absolutely despise Twilight with the deepest passion. The whole book is mindless fluff. Bella is a weak-minded, pathetic, depressing, personality-less, disrespectful, bullying bitch who thinks of nothing but Edward and his fucking eyes, hair, chest, and whatever else. Yes, I just swore because I hate Twilight so effing much. The books are so sexist and homophobic (are there any gay characters in Twilight?) and racist and they have no fucking plot! I have read all of them because, well, when I read the first one, I decided that it was shit but I thought, 'Hey maybe they'll get better!' No, that was not the case at. All. Bella is this boring Mary-Sue who relies on the big, strong male to come and save her from whatever stupid situation she's gotten herself into. The whole series is based off of S. Meyer's personal fantasy! They. Are. Horrible. I also really hate it when people compare Harry Potter to the Twilight... Things (I can't even call them books). HP is the best series on the face of the planet (in my opinion) and to compare it to shit like Twilight is offensive to all Potterheads. Just... No. Also, seriously Stephanie Meyer? 'Beautiful Swan' (that's Bella's name translated into English). Come fucking on! Could you be anymore cheesy? For fuck's sake...**_

_**Anyway, enough of my ranting! If you want a rant, leave it in a review and I will post one about everything that is wrong with Twilight! YOU DECIDE!**_

_**Disclaimer: Yeah, I own PJO, along with my pet unicorn named Billy who eats golden coins and poops out butterflies!**_

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Rowen's POV

Justin fumbled around for my hand as we walked down the hallway, failing miserably. I glanced at him, laughing silently. His cheeks were pink and he looked almost nervous. I maneuvered my hand around his and laced our fingers together in a criss-cross pattern. He saw me laughing and glared me playfully. "Jerk," he said and hip-checked me lightly.

I smiled at him innocently and fiddled with the end of my long braid that I had flipped over my shoulder. He rolled his eyes at me and squeezed my hand. "So, what's next?" I asked.

He shrugged indifferently. "I dunno."

"Well, you have the bloody schedules, you idiot!" I said and smacked his shoulder with my free hand.

He blushed and pulled out two crumpled pieces of paper from his back pocket. "Um... It looks like we both have Gym with... Coach Hedge? Who's that?"

"He must be new," I said. We stopped in front of the women's change rooms. Justin kissed my cheek and turned to leave. I caught his hand in mine and pulled his face to mine. I pressed my lips lightly to his and cupped his cheek in my palm. I pulled away and smirked at his red face. "You honestly thought you'd get away with a measly kiss on the cheek?" I asked. I laughed softly at his dumbfounded expression. "See you in class." I winked at him and pushed open the heavy door.

I stopped in front of one of the old, blue lockers and stuffed my jeans and blouse in it. I pulled on my basketball shorts and my old, red tank top on. I heard giggling coming from the other side of the locker room. Mia, Chelsea and a girl I had never seen before were pointing and whispering about me, more than likely, under their breaths. I clenched my jaw and pulled the top over my middle, covering a long, white scar from- _No, don't think about that Rowen,_ I scolded myself. I tied my runners quickly and ran into someone as I turned to leave the change room. I squeaked in shock and fell backwards onto my bum.

"Oh my gods! You okay?" Annabeth asked and stretched out her hand for me to grab. I pulled myself up and brushed the dust off of my shorts. High-pitched, nasally giggles pierced my ears.

Mia was clutching her newly cut shirt and fanning her bright red face. "Wow. Well done, losers," she said, still snickering stupidly.

Annabeth rolled her grey eyes. "Really? We're in the eleventh grade and all you can think of is 'Well done, losers,'?"

Her smile quickly faded and was replaced by a horrid sneer. "Oh whatever," she said and flipped her fried, blonde hair over her shoulder. Her cold, brown eyes scanned Annabeth up and down. Annabeth's appearance had changed a lot over that summer. War could do that to a person. Her grey eyes had lost their twinkle and underneath them were dark purple circles. Her body was thin and weak looking, like she had suffered from malnutrition and exhaustion. Scars marred her usually-tan complexion which was now a pale ivory colour. Her blond hair was flatter, less bouncy than before and four thick, grey streaks stood out prominently against the blonde. I hadn't noticed those before; had she always had them? "What's with the hair, Chase?"

Annabeth's eyes flashed in pain but she quickly covered it with a glare. "Why in Hades would I want to talk to you about my beauty choices?"

"I heard once that parts of your hair turn grey when you lose you 'V' card. Who'd you give that to? Better question, who in hell would want that?" Mia sneered. Annabeth's body tensed. I could practically feel her fury in the air around me.

"Where's your streak then, Mia?" I retorted. "You should have gotten yours when you were thirteen. Come on, Annabeth. They aren't even worth our time." I gripped Annabeth's upper arm and was surprised by the hard muscle I felt under my fingers. For someone who looked so weak, she sure had a lot of muscle. I dragged her away from the heard of cows (A.K.A.: Mia and her 'friends').

I looked at Annabeth's face and was surprised when I saw silent tears making tracks down her cheeks. "Annabeth?" I whispered. I lead her to a bench behind a row of lockers in the most secluded spot of the locker room. She sat dow with my guidance and curled her legs to her chest.

"So much blood..." she muttered and rocked back and forth on the bench. Her eyes were wild, terrified, mad.

I started to panic a little; what was wrong with her? "Annabeth?" I asked softly and touched her shoulder softly.

That was a wrong move on my part. She wrenched her shoulder from my touch and stared at me, clenching and unclenching her fists. Her lip curled menacingly but she didn't make a move for her knife, thank the gods. "No, let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Percy, help!"

Realization dawned on me; I had seen her like this before. At Percy's house when she had the flash back... Oh gods, she must have been flashing back to Tartarus! I needed Percy; I didn't know how to deal with this. I had to find him! But I couldn't leave Annabeth like this, who knew what she could do to herself while in this state... Or others.

I took a look at Annabeth and decided that she'd be fine, well, not 'fine', but safe, while I found someone, anyone to get Percy. I ran down the twisted paths of the lockers and bumped into someone for the second time in ten minutes.

"Gods, do you not look where you- Oh, hey, Rowen," Piper said with a dazzling smile. "What's up?"

"Piper! Oh, thank the gods! It's Annabeth! I don't know what happened! She just-"

"Oh gods! Is she having another 'moment'?" she asked. I stuttered something and she gripped my shoulders with her hands. "Answer me!" she growled.

"I-I, she just blacked out a-and started muttering about bl-blood," I stuttered.

"Where is she?" Piper demanded.

"In the back of the change room." I was getting really freaked out by her behaviour. Piper had always seemed level-headed and nice. Now, seeing her demand things and, for lack of better word, man-handle me, it was really winding me up.

"Okay, go find Percy! Got it? I need to get to Annabeth!" And with that she sprinted past me the way I came. I shook myself out of my momentary daze and ran full-speed to the entrance to the Gym. The students were all sitting on the bleachers as the teacher lectured them about the importance of proper equipment usage. I barrelled past the teacher and took the steps two at a time to where Percy was sitting at the back beside Leo, Jason and Justin.

"Oi! Smith! What the heck are you doing? Go take your seat and don't interrupt me while I'm talking!" Coach Hedge barked through his megaphone.

"Percy!" I said urgently. He met my eyes. "It's Annabeth, she needs you. Like, _now_."

Percy's eyes were suddenly alert. "Oh my gods," he said and leapt up from his seat, pushing Leo and Jason to the ground. "Lead the way." I nodded once and, together, we ran down the bleachers. Well, I ran down the steps, Percy actually jumped off of the back of the bleachers and ran around. Gods, that boy was whipped.

Coach Hedge screamed at us through his megaphone. Percy turned around at him and glared. "It's about Annabeth, you stupid goat," he spat and followed me into the girls' locker room. Gods, I hoped no one was changing in there. We weaved in and out of the lockers. A startled girl yelped as Percy ran past her and sprayed him in the face with _Vanilla Dream_ body mist. Percy gagged and coughed but kept running. Damn, that boy was tough. Oh gods, I should never go street again. I guided him to the back. What I saw made my breath catch in my throat.

Annabeth was curled into a ball on the floor, Piper right beside her, her hand hovering over her shoulder as if to touch you. Annabeth was screaming herself hoarse. I was surprised we hadn't heard the noise before. "No! Let him go!" she screamed in agony. The sound pierced my ears, driving their way into my skull. I realized then that Piper had a grip on Annabeth's hands and knees. Her body started to struggle against invisible bonds; Piper was barely able to keep her from thrashing out and possibly injuring herself or someone else.

"Annabeth... No, no, no..." Percy murmured. "Not this one, anything but this one..."

I wondered what he was talking about, but kept it to myself. This was neither the time nor the place to be asking questions. Percy surged forward and gathered Annabeth's body into his lap. He pushed Piper's hands away from her and stroked her hair. "Shhh... We're safe now, Annabeth. You can fight this. They don't own you. You can fight this. You're strong enough," he murmured and his nose slid along the line of her jaw. Annabeth's hands twitched and her body shuddered, like a car being turned off. Percy pressed his lips softly to her forehead, tears sliding down his crooked nose, the crookedness from him breaking it so many times.

I slid to the ground against the lockers and pulled my knees against my chest as I observed the scene in front of me. Piper's lips were lifted ever-so slightly at the edges. I felt a small tremor on the ground beside me and glanced over to see Justin sitting beside me. His eyes were wide and his lips parted in awe. We all knew Percy as the fun-loving, trouble-attracting joker. Seeing him like this was odd and very rare. He would only act like this if it was extremely important and serious or if it was about Annabeth and her safety. Percy shifted his hands so he was stroking her cheekbone. Annabeth's eyes fluttered open and her body shuddered again. She blinked a few times, confused, but then burst into tears, real heart-broken, passion-filled sobs.

I glanced up and saw the entire Gym class watching them. I was immediately repulsed by them. Could they not see that this was an intimate, private moment for only Percy and Annabeth to share? I shot them a glare and turned my attention back to the couple.

Percy rubbed Annabeth's back and she buried her face in his shoulder and clutched his shirt in her fists. "I'm here now... I'll protect you... We're okay..." Percy murmured. I noticed how he didn't say, 'It's okay,' or, 'It's fine,' because, well, it wasn't. It may never be for them, which wasn't fair at all. They, of all people, deserved a 'happily ever after'.

"So much blood. So, so much blood... You were almost dead... I didn't know if you were dead or alive. And h-he had you... Going to kill you... Take you away again..." Annabeth said, her voice shaking. I bit my lip to keep from my own tears from falling, which was completely ridiculous considering the fact that I wasn't the one who had to deal with these... Flashbacks.

"What's going on?" I heard someone whisper.

"I don't know. I just followed the rest of the class and that chick... Annabelle? No, Annabeth. Well, she was sitting on the floor and, like, flipping out over something. Some people are just so melodramatic," another voice said. I clenched my jaw; some people were just the most inconsiderate, stupid, soulless, little bastards.

"I know... I'm so sorry. I won't ever leave you again. Never ever again," Percy murmured and kissed her hair.

"Did they break up over the summer or something?" someone asked no one in particular.

"Would you shut up?" I told the crowd. "Just, please, be quiet." They all glared at me and I did the same. Justin wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against his body. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned my head on his shoulder with a small huff of annoyance.

Annabeth's sobs stopped gradually and she rubbed her eyes with her hands like a toddler. Percy tilted her head with his thumb and forefinger so she had to look at him. Her face was splotchy and red, her eyes bloodshot and puffy, but Percy was looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the whole world. "Better?" he asked softly. She nodded slowly and Percy pressed his lips to hers.

"Much," she said in a rough voice. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Percy said with a sad, smile. The whole room was silent in shock. They had probably never seen anything like that before, the amount of intimacy and purity in one place. But, of course, the loud, clanging sound of the school bell had to ruin the beautiful moment. The pair jumped and blushed deeply as they noticed they noticed the swarm of people around them, watching as they held each other in their arms. Annabeth cleared her throat and got up off of Percy's lap. She stumbled a little but Percy caught her arm. He pulled her close to him and wrapped a protective arm around her waist. I smiled a little at this. Percy was so protective of Annabeth, but not in the creepy way, more that he'd do anything and everything to save her, but he trusts her at the same time to take care of herself.

"Well?" Percy snapped at the crowd. "Don't you have classes to get to? Get going!" Annabeth was wiping the tears away from her face with the heals of her hands. Percy reached out and wiped them from her cheeks with his thumbs. "Come on, Wise Girl. Let's get to class."

* * *

_**Thanks for reading! Next update will not take as long, I promise! Please check out my other stories if you like Percabeth fluff, etc.**_

_**As always,**_

_**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**_

_**~Lou XOXO**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while! So, interesting news, if you even care, today is We Are Silent, the day when you don't say anything to raise money for charity. It's also Nation High-Five Day, so if you live in Canada, like me, then High-five someone because it's awesome!**

**Also, as a response to a review, someone told me that my homophobic point about Twilight was invalid and that there are no gay characters in PJO or HP. Number one, PJO is a series written for nine to eleven year olds, therefore the fact that there are no gay characters is completely justified, while Twilight is written for teens. And seriously? HP has no gay characters? Have you even read the bloody the series? One of the main characters, Dumbledore, was gay! And there's also a debate going on about whether or not Fred Weasley was gay. I just wanted to say that my point was completely justified. They also took a rather offensive jab at my story, telling me off at the fact that I have no gay characters in my story. Well, friggin' spoiler alert, Dylan is bi-sexual, so, thank you, Guest, for ruining the surprise for everyone! And, come on, hiding behind a guest username... Tut tut. Sorry, but I was (and still a am) a little miffed by that statement. I do my research, I know my facts and my opinions are completely justified. You don't have to agree with them, but to say they were invalid is offensive and uncalled for.**

**Okay, enough ranting!**

**Disclaimer: Still not owning PJO...**

* * *

Annabeth and I walked into the lunch room, our hands laced together. Annabeth's face was stony, unfeeling. But I knew that she was hurting inside. I'd known her for long enough to know when she wanted to burst into tears but simply couldn't because she was too strong. That, and her pride simply wouldn't allow her to be weak, even for a second.

People in the halls pointed and whispered at her and I knew that word of her little... Episode had been spread around the school. I glared at the crowds as we entered the cafeteria. The whole room went silent as we walked through the doors. Heads turned in our direction and they all pointed and whispered excitedly. _Great,_ I thought, _I am the subject of yet another school rumour._

I ducked me head down and we headed down to our table, which just so happened to be at the back of the lunch room, so we had to pass by all of the tables in order to sit down. I pulled out Annabeth's chair for her and she sat down stiffly, her face still hard and a mask of no emotion. I sat down beside her hesitantly. Rowen, Thalia, Meg, Justin, Jason, Piper, Leo, Nico, Dylan and some other girl I didn't know were all staring at us like we were from another planet. I pulled out a paper bag and handed Annabeth a ham sandwich. She unwrapped it but didn't bother taking a bite. I didn't blame her; I didn't have much of an appetite either.

"Would you please stop looking at us like that?" Annabeth snapped after a while. They looked down at their lunches. Thalia picked at her pasta salad uncomfortably. Meg coughed awkwardly and took a small bite of her macaroni and cheese.

I ruffled my hair with my hand and stretched my arms over my head. I put them down and wrapped my right arm around Annabeth's shoulders. She raised her eyebrows at me like, _Seriously? You couldn't think of anything better than the stretch-and-then-casually-wrap-my-arm-around-her trick? Wow._

I poked my tongue out at her. _Like you could do any better._

She snorted and smirked at me. _Oh yes. Yes, I can._ Then, she leaned in and kissed me slowly. I pulled her closer to me, using my arm and she happily obliged. I heard someone clear their throat rather loudly. I pulled away and looked at the table. Piper was smiling at me knowingly. Jason rolled his eyes. Leo was flashing me a thumbs up like, _Way to go, buddy!_ Rowen was also smiling knowingly. I swear, sometimes her and Piper act exactly alike. Both looked relatively the same; high cheekbones, doe-like eyes, pointed chins and little button noses. But, on the other hand, Piper's complection was a lot darker, a tan colour, while Rowen's was a pale beige. Thalia's face was amused, like she was thinking about how much blackmail she could get out of this moment. Nico had an amused smirk on his face. The girl I didn't know was just sitting there awkwardly, though she did have a small hint of a smile on her face.

The new girl had wavy light brown hair and bright hazel eyes lined heavily in black eyeliner, though not quite as much as Thalia. She was wearing a fitted red t-shirt and dark blue jeans and black combat boots. She was sitting beside Leo and I noticed her eyes flicker over in Leo's direction every so often.

"Ye-uh, my boy Jackson's gettin' some action!" Leo said after a short, awkward silence. We all stared at him for a while until we burst out laughing.

"Oh, Leo," Piper said through her laughs and pinched the bridge of her nose. Jason laughed at him and clapped his friend on the back. The new girl giggled into her hand.

"Um, hi, what's your name?" I said uncertainly to the new girl.

Her hazel eyes met mine in shock. "Oh, geez, sorry," Leo said sheepishly and ran a hand through his mop of curly hair. "This is Brooke. I kinda, you know, ran right into her. So, I invited her to sit with us, 'cause she's new and stuff."

Brooke's cheeks turned pink and she waved at us. "Hi," Thalia said. "My name's Thalia. Nice to meet you." Thalia held out her hand and they shook hands.

"Annabeth," Annabeth said with a slight wave of her hand. I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. Annabeth's eyes met mine and she smiled involuntarily. Her cheeks turned pink and she tapped her finger on my nose. I caught her hand in mine and kissed her back of her hand like a prince would do to a princess. "You're so cheesy," she murmured and leaned against my side.

"Jason Grace, pleased to meet you," Jason said and shook her hand. She smiled at him shyly and he grinned back.

Piper grinned at her. "Piper Mc- Um, yeah, nice to meet you," Piper said and cleared her throat awkwardly. She had almost said her dad's name aloud which would have resulted in crazy fangirls crowding around her, begging for his autograph.

"Percy Jackson," I said after a while. Piper shot me a grateful look. Brooke's eyes scanned me up and down.

"Now you I've heard about," she said. I was surprised by her voice. I was expecting something light and airy to go with her pixie-like features, but her voice was loud and clear. "Percy Jackson, Mr. Bad Boy, disappeared half-way through last year, exploded the band room in freshman year, came back the new totally ripped and then just disappeared." I stared at her like she was from another planet. The corners of her mouth lifted when she saw my dumbfounded expression. "People talk about you a lot. Like, a lot, a lot."

I groaned loudly. "Oh, come on! Why can't people just give me a break?" I said and started banging my head on the table dramatically. Annabeth giggled and pulled my head up from its abusive banging.

"Gods, Seaweed Brain. You don't have any brain cells to spare!" Annabeth said through her giggles. I shoved her shoulder with mine and she shoved me back harder. I flew off the chair and hit the floor with a bang. Annabeth giggled and offered me her hand. "Here let me help you."

I grabbed her small hand in my large one. "No, let _me_ help _you_," I said and pulled her down beside me. She thumped down on top of me.

"Seaweed Brain!" she said and slammed her fist into my chest. I winced and smirked at her. Her eyes were narrowed but were twinkling in amusement. "You jerk!" she said and rolled off of me.

"Hey! Need I remind you that _you_ pushed _me_ off of my chair?" I asked, propping myself up on my elbows.

"Details, details," Annabeth said and waved her hands in dismissal. I rolled my eyes and leaned in-

"Oh Percy!" a high-pitched, nasally voice screeched. I heard the _clip clop_ sound of stiletto heals becoming louder and louder as their owner came closer. I groaned faintly, Mia. "OMG, like, Percy! I missed you so much!" Mia said and grinned at me through her burgundy lipstick.

I pulled myself off of the floor and helped Annabeth along with me. "Hey, Mia," I said and ran a hand through my messy hair.

"OMG, Percy, where'd you go? I missed you so much!" Mia screeched in my ear and took a step closer. I took one step back, dragging Annabeth along with me. I tried to make a point by having my arm around Annabeth's waist and making her lean practically on top of me. Mia gave Annabeth a once-over and I clenched my teeth. "Still with the fake blond, I see?" she scoffed in her chipmunk-like voice.

I expected Annabeth to be mad at her for that comment. But, to my surprise, she merely scanned her up and down before doubling over in laughter. She cupped her hand over her mouth and her face turned a bright red. "W-W-Wow! Th-That's was p-p-pretty sad for e-even you, M-Mia! Just, wo-ow! You honestly think that you're the baddest person, the meanest, most evil thing I have ever faced? That's pretty sad!"

I chuckled and gave Annabeth a quick wink. Mia glared at her. "Oh, whatever, Little Miss Princess. I'd watch the comments if I were you; I have more influence than you'd think!" Mia sneered and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Like what?"

"My daddy recently married this... Lovely woman named Elizabeth Hamilton. Anyway, she's very influential woman in the school system, so I'd watch what you say to me or you may just find yourself expelled," Mia said and grinned wickedly. She turned on her heals and gave me one last wink and strutted off.

Annabeth's mouth was dropped open. Her eyes were wide with shock. Everyone else was staring at the place where Mia had left.

"Well, that bitch does her work good," Brooke said to everyone's surprised. Brooke smirked at everyone's stupid looks at her and stole a fry from Leo's plate.

"Brooke!" Leo whined, coming out of his stupor. "That was _my fry!"_

"And I took it!" Brooke said happily and munched on the potato.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Sorry about the shortness of this chapter! I will update sometime Friday (so tomorrow) or Saturday!**

**Thanks for all the amazing reviews!**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter is sooooo long! Agh! I hope you like it, though! It doesn't have any Percabeth, but it does have Rowen/Justin, and a lot of it! Sorry this took so long; I was busy Friday night because I had a school dance to attend and then I had company all of Saturday, so yeah, that's my excuse. This is also only part one of this chapter, so I hope you like it!**

**QUESTIONS:**

**Q: What is your favourite physical feature of yourself?**

**A: Um, I'm not exactly attractive, but I do like my lips because they're super pouty and they never seem to get chapped, which is nice. I also have stormy grey eyes, which is pretty awesome. But, other than that, I'm one ugly motha f*cka. Just a sayin'.**

**Q: What is your favourite song by OneRepublic?**

**A: Erm, I'd say _Secrets_ or _Come Home_ (that is honestly the BEST song for Percy's disappearance, if Annabeth was singing it. Seriously, look it up!).**

**Q: Meg/Connor or Rowen/Justin?**

**A: Hmm... Good question, my friend. I'd say Rowen/Justin (or as some people call them; Rowstin) because I love it when best friends become couples. I think it's the sweetest thing ever... Sigh...**

**Disclaimer: [insert creative disclaimer here]**

**P.S.: I don't own PJO, just to clarify.**

* * *

Justin's POV

I gripped Rowen's tiny hand in mine and swung our connected hands in between us. Rowen gave me a confused look and shook her head fondly at my immaturity.

"You know," Rowen said, "I've been friends with you for years and I still haven't been to your house. Don't you find that a little odd?"

I blanched; I hadn't told Rowen about our family situation yet. I know, I know, I really should be more honest with my girlfriend but I had a foolish fear, that she would judge me. I wanted so badly to be an awesome boyfriend and get her amazing gifts or take her to expensive restaurants but, so far, the fanciest place we'd eaten out was this local Italian place on 56 Street.

"And," she continued, he cheeks colouring slightly, "we're a bit more than friends now, and I haven't even met your parents yet. I've only met your little brother and sister a couple of times."

I bit my bottom lip anxiously. "Why the sudden interest in my family?" I asked, praying to whatever Greek god was the god of voices that it didn't sound as forced to her as it did to me.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I'd just like to meet them. Why? Don't you want me to meet them?"

"What? No! No, of course not! That's not what I meant at all!" I exclaimed.

"Then what did you mean?" She sound pissed; oh gods. I did not have time to deal with an angry girlfriend!

I sighed. "I meant that I want you to meet them, and that you should come over maybe tonight, even, to meet them and that I love you," I said in a rush. Wait what? Did I just say that I love her?

"Wait, what? Did you just say that you love me?" Rowen asked incredulously. Creepy...

"Um, yes?" I said and smiled at her nervously.

Rowen's face and neck flushed. Her eyes glittered in happiness and she threw herself at me, kissing me furiously. I froze for a second, in shock, but soon recovered and placed my hands on her hips. She pulled away, grinning madly. "I love you, too," she whispered and kissed my cheek. I was pretty sure that my face was bright red, as it felt like it was burning. She ruffled her hand through my hair affectionately, messing it up.

"Hey!" I said and quickly combed through it with my fingers. "Do you know how long it takes to get my hair like this?"

She laughed and pulled me along the hallway to our Math class. I then realized that I had invited Rowen over to dinner, to our apartment, tonight, without telling my parents. Oh gods.

**Hey look! I'm a line breaker! Weeeeeeee!**

"Hey Mom!" I said into my cellphone (I had saved for years to get this phone). It was just after last period and Rowen was going to get her books for her homework from her locker. I was waiting for her by the front entrance.

"Oh, hi honey! What's up?" my mom's melodic voice said, garbled slightly from the phone.

"Um, you're not working late tonight, right?" I asked, hoping my voice wasn't shaking, like it always did when I was nervous.

"No, both your father and I will be back at around 5:30, as usual. Why?"

"Um, well, you see, I kinda have a girlfriend now..." I said. I hadn't told them about Rowen being my girlfriend, even though we had been dating for eight months now. I didn't want them worrying about even than they had to (i.e.: their son getting his girlfriend pregnant or something, not that Rowen and I would even think about that at seventeen!)

"What!" my mom shrieked into the phone. "Oh my goodness, Justin! Who is it? What's her name? Is it Rowen? How old is she? She's not thirteen, is she? How long have you been dating her?"

"Yes, mom, it is Rowen. Now, can I please tell you what I want to tell you?" I interrupted her stream of endless questions.

"Oh, sorry, sweetie. Continue," my mom said. I could see her ecstatic expression in my mind. Hell, she was probably planning our wedding already. Wonderful.

"Um, well, you see, I kinda invited her over for dinner tonight because she hasn't ever met you guys and she wanted to and I feel like I want her to meet you guys and she's really pretty and I want you to approve of her, even though I know you will, because she's really pretty and funny and brave and has amazing eyes and really long, brown hair that smells like strawberries-"

"Justin!" My mom cut off my endless babble about Rowen. "It's okay, we'll have her over. I just don't know if we're going to be able to do anything... Different from our regular dinner because this is so last minute. Usually, I would, well, save or something so we wouldn't have to feed a guest frozen pizza or KD."

"Um, yeah, that's fine..." I said.

"You haven't told her yet, have you?" my mom asked. Her voice was full of understanding and compassion. She was talking about our living situation.

I licked my lips. "Yeah, I was planning on showing her."

My mom sighed into the phone. "Okay, you can show her, I guess. I have to go, baby. I have to call your father and I have a customer waiting for me. I love you."

"Love you, too, Mom. 'Bye."

"Bye, honey. See you at 5:30. Don't forget to pick your brother and sister up at the Subway!" my mom said and the line went dead.

I flipped my cellphone shut and shoved into my back pocket. I felt a pair of skinny, yet strong, arms wind their way around my waist. "Hey, Row," I said with a small smile on my face.

"Hey," she said and stepped in front of me. She curled a piece of brown hair behind her ear.

"Ready to go?" I asked and she nodded. "Cool. Oh, I forgot to ask; did you tell your dad that you were going to be over at my house?"

"Shit!" Rowen hissed and pulled her iPhone out of her pocket. Rowen's family was quite rich; her dad owned a big wedding planning agency. I guess that that was what Aphrodite was attracted to when she first met Mr. Smith. You should have seen Mr. Smith's face when Rowen told him that we were going out. He started grinning like a maniac and pulling binders off of shelves, telling us to pick a colour scheme for the reception. I thought he was joking. I only found out after I ushered out the door hurriedly by Rowen after dinner that night that he was serious. "'Kay, we're all set. My dad just told me that he's fine with it. And to, um, be safe," Rowen cleared her throat awkwardly and her face turned red. I realized what he meant by 'stay safe' and turned as red as Rowen.

"Um, yeah, anyway, we have to pick Wren and Benny up from the Subway. You okay with that?" I asked.

She smiled. "Sounds awesome. They're both such sweethearts."

"Yeah, they are until you start living with them," I grumbled and Rowen glared at me.

"That's you brother and sister you're talking about, Mister," she said.

"Yes, _mom_," I said and poked my tongue out at her. She glared at me playfully and punched me in the shoulder. I winced and rubbed it. "Gods, you punch hard," I muttered.

She smiled at me innocently and fluttered her long, black eyelashes. _Oh gods, she's so beautiful,_ I thought to myself and blushed. We walked to the Subway and waited on the platform. "Number 27, from Munroe Avenue," squawked the speaker and the train screeched to a stop in front of us. Posh people in expensive suits and shiny shoes unloaded from the train, talking rapidly on their bluetooths or on their iPhones. Women in short skirts and tiny tops and painful-looking high-heels stepped out while checking their heavy in a compact mirror. Finally, I saw Wren, twisting her long, wavy, brown hair around her finger, a habit she had picked up from hanging out with Rowen when they went to do 'girl stuff'. Ben was following right behind her, his chubby, eight-year-old arms stretched out as if he wanted to grip onto the back Wren's backpack.

"Wren! Wren, wait up!" he whined. He stumbled a little and was about to fall, but Wren had whirled around just in time to catch him in her skinny arms.

"Whoa, buddy, calm down," Wren said with a smirk on her face. Ben laughed and grinned up at her. Wren scanned the crowd and her eyes settled on me. Then on my arm that was wrapped around Rowen's waist and she wiggled her eyebrows at me suggestively. My face turned red; little siblings were evil! "Justin!" she yelled and ran up to me. I picked her up and twirled her around.

"Oooh-aah! I swear, you must weigh a ton now, Wrenny. Jeez, you need to stop eating so much macaroni!" I said and put her on the ground. She glared at me playfully and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Justin!" Ben cried out and hugged my legs.

"Hey, kiddo. Hi-five!" I said and squatted down beside and held my hand up. He slapped my hand on mine lightly. I faked a wince. "Ouch! That hurt! Have you been working out?" Ben grinned at me, showing his lost tooth in the front of his mouth.

"Rowen!" Wren said and gave her and hug.

Rowen looked taken aback for a second. She quickly recovered and hugged Wren back. "How was your day at school, Wren?" she asked with a genuine smile. Her cheeks were a little red and I wondered why that was.

"Good," Wren said. "We're learning how to multiply fractions and it sucks."

"Oh, yuck. I hate math," Rowen said and wrinkled her nose comically. She was so cute...

"Me too!" Wren said happily. "Are we going to do girl stuff today?"

Rowen shook her head. "Nope. Actually I'm coming over for supper."

Ben gasped. "Is she your girlfriend now?" he asked and I turned red.

"Why would you-" I started but Wren cut in.

"Of _course_ she is, dummy. Why the heck would Justin be standing so close to her if she wasn't?"

"I'm not a dummy!" Ben huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wren," I groaned; she was going through a 'calling people names' faze, "don't call him a dummy. He's only eight."

"Whatever," grumbled Wren. "So, _are_ you guys finally dating? I mean, c'mon, I don't think I can stand anymore of your guys' flirting."

"How do you even know what 'flirting' is?" I asked incredulously. Rowen and my faces were bright red.

Wren rolled her eyes dramatically. "I _am_ in grade five now. I know what flirting is. People in my class do it all the time."

"I really hope you don't," I groaned. I did not want to have to deal with boy trouble when Wren was still eleven-going-on-twelve, as she put it.

Wren faked a gag. "Ew! No! Boys in my class are so _gross_. But Lucy said that Grace was told by Brooklyn, who was told by Macy, who was told by Hannah, that Simon likes me."

Rowen started laughing. "Oh gods, I miss being in elementary school. So much less drama." Her expression turned wistful.

"Anyway, are you dating?" Ben asked.

I sighed, it was now or never. "Yes, we're dating."

Wren squealed in delight. "Oh, this is awesome! Can I be the flower girl at the wedding?"

"We're seventeen!" we both cried in unison. "Okay, it's time to get home," I added after and Rowen nodded in agreement. I grabbed for Rowen's hand and laced our fingers together. Wren smirked at me when she saw the gesture. Just to annoy her, I let go of her hand and stepped in front of Rowen.

"What the heck are you-Omf!" I had interrupted her by kissing her. I rested both of my hands on her hips and she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Ew! Get a room!" exclaimed Ben, not knowing what the saying really meant. Well, I hoped he didn't because he was only eight years old.

"Aww! You guys are so cute together!" Wren exclaimed in ecstasy. I pulled away from Rowen's blushing face. She glared at me.

"Oh, you know you like it," I said with a wink. She rolled her eyes and hip-checked me. I threw a casual arm around her shoulders and she kissed my cheek.

Wren skipped ahead of us and Ben toddled beside us. The fall wind swirled around us and leaves crunched under our feet. We passed by the rows of tall, two-story homes. "So, where do you live?" Rowen asked after a while. I pursed my lips anxiously.

We were passing smaller, dingier looking homes. Almost there... "Just past here," I said after a while.

She looked at me quizzically and shrugged. I began to get nervous; how would she react to our apartment. Rowen was used to big three or four-story houses, or even penthouse suites. I didn't really know what to expect; the only guy who knew about where we lived and how we lived was Percy, mainly because he figured it out on his own. The guy was usually quite dense but he could figure stuff out very fast if he really set his mind to it.

We turned down an alley and Rowen raised an eyebrow at me. "Just a short-cut. Or else we'd have to walk an extra two blocks."

Rowen nodded in understanding. We passed by big trash can bins and people passed out on the sidewalk, covered in newspapers or under trash cans to keep warm. Rowen looked shocked to say the least. I guess she'd never seen this part of New York before. Wren and Ben were acting like this was completely normal.

Finally, we stopped in front of a short, yet wide, building. The building leaned slightly to one side and the brick walls were crumbling. We stopped in front of the door and pulled out my key from my pocket, my hands shaking from nervousness. Rowen hadn't said anything yet. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. I shoved the key into the keyhole and turned it to the right. I pushed open the door, jiggling it a little so it wasn't stuck anymore. I held the door open for Wren, Rowen and Ben. Wren skipped inside, humming a Taylor Swift song. Ben ran forward, only to trip on the threshold. He caught himself with his hands and quickly stood up again. Rowen took a hesitant step inside and I quickly followed her. The heavy scent of tobacco and sweat hit me in the face. It was like the air was weighing down on you.

I placed a hand on the small of Rowen's back and guided her up the rickety staircase. Wren was thumping her way up, trying to make as much noise as possible. At first, we had tried to stop her from doing it so as not to disrupt the other people who lived here, but after a while, we just gave up. The other inhabitants didn't seem to mind; they actually thought it was cute, especially when Ben tried to imitate his big sister and do it with her.

We stopped at the second flight of stairs and I pushed open the heavy door that lead to a dimly light hallway. I opened the door to number 13B and flicked on the light. I let Ben and Wren go inside, barrelling past me like water buffalos. I lead Rowen inside, my palms sweating, my heart pounding in my chest. The apartment was small; two bedrooms, one for mom and dad, one for me, Wren and Ben (we had put a curtain up in the middle of the room to give me some privacy), one small kitchen, a living room, and one bathroom. It certainly wasn't Rowen's near-mansion of a home.

"So, we've got some time before we have to start on dinner. You wanna see my room?" I asked Rowen.

She nodded and followed me to the last room of the hall. I opened the door and lead Rowen to behind the curtain/bed sheet we had stapled to the roof. We weren't exactly supposed to do that, but the sheet simply wouldn't stay up with duct tape.

I sat down on my bed and Rowen sat down beside me. She rested her head on my shoulder and I wound an arm around her waist. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked after a while.

I sighed. "I dunno. I guess I was afraid you wouldn't like me anymore."

"Justin," Rowen groaned and flopped backwards onto my bed. "You're so stupid. You honestly think I wouldn't like you because you're... you know..."

I nodded and lay down beside her. "So, you don't hate me?" I asked.

She huffed angrily and put her head on my chest. Our legs tangled together into a mess of limbs and I linked hands with her, resting them on my stomach. "Why on earth would I hate you? I don't think I could ever hate you," she said finally.

"I love you," I whispered after a while. It was easier to say now that this was the second time I'd said it.

Rowen blushed and kissed me. It started out slow at first, but then got more and more urgent. I cupped her cheek with my hand and her hands slid underneath my shirt and rested on my stomach. I trailed my hand down her shoulder and rested it on the curve of her waist. I heard a knock on the door and we both jumped apart.

"Justin?" my mom called through the door. "Can I come in?"

I cleared my throat and ran a hand through my messy hair. "Um, yeah, come in," I said.

The curtain opened a crack and my mom poked her head in. She smiled at the two of us now sitting close beside each other. My mom looked a lot like me; brown eyes and dirty blond hair. Her hair is streaked with grey now from age, but I don't think I could ever think of her as old, and her eyes are tired. Under them are bags and dark circles from over-work. She's actually quite young to have a seventeen-year-old son; she's only thirty-five. She was pregnant with me when she was only eighteen. When her parents found out about me, the 'bastard child', they kicked her out of the house and disowned her. They're actually quite rich; they live in a big house in Brooklyn. Luckily, Dad didn't leave her and the two of them managed to scrape up enough money to rent a small apartment in Manhattan. They aren't actually married, but they might as well be, they're so in love.

"Oh, honey! This must be Rowen. My, you're so much prettier in person than in the pictures Justin's showed me," my mom said and Rowen blushed. "You know, when we were on the phone, he would not stop talking about your hair and your eyes."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Rowen said in a small voice that she used when she was nervous.

I laughed silently at her. She turned to me and narrowed her eyes. She then hit me on the forehead. I poked my tongue out at her and kissed her cheek. She blushed and cleared her throat.

"Well, it's nice to meet you to, dear. You know, I suspected that Justin's liked you for a long time. He talks about you all the time, even when you had just met, he wouldn't stop talking about 'the pretty girl who would actually talk to him without being mean'," my mom said, a playful spark in her eyes.

"Mom," I groaned.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop. But you have told you love her, though, right?" she asked playfully.

I straightened, "Actually, yes, I have."

My mom beamed. "Wonderful! We'll take Rowen out dress shopping this weekend for her wedding dress! But, before that, we need to eat dinner, which is ready right now. I hope you like hot dogs!"

"Mom!" I groaned and my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "C'mon, Row, dinner time." I offered her my hand pulled her off the bed.

"Your mom," Rowen said, smiling, "is awesome."

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**I have a question for you guys! Do you think it's gross to shop in thrift stores? (I don't, just to clarify. I love Value Village or the Salvation Army...) Just wondering...**

**Thanks for reading! I simply adore Rowstin! They're actually based off of two of my friends, believe it or not, lol.**

**Live, Love, Laugh, and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	7. Chapter 7

**Heeeellllllooooooo! So, I;m so sorry about this late update! As you guys may have noticed, I haven't been updating as regularly. There is a reason behind this and that would be that I am actually in Regina all weekend, so I will not be updating all weekend but hopefully Monday or Tuesday. Also, life (AKA dance recitals, extra rehearsals for ballet, and competition) is getting in the way, so, sadly, updates will continue to be less frequent until about the beginning of June, which is the end of the dance year! Yay! Not! I hate that time of year!**

**Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors but I didn't have time to proof read this so it's kinda crappy!**

**Questions:**

**Q: Where is Dylan?**

**A: Aaaah, yes, dearest Dylan. He will be back shortly. I have a plan for him, don't worry he has not been forgotten!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing has changed within the last two months; still a teen girl, still live in Canada and I still don't own PJO...**

**Anyway, without further ado, Chapter 7.**

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"So, Rowen, how did you and Justin meet?"

I choked on my hot dog in my mouth. I couched and gagged on my guffaws. We were about halfway through dinner and I must say, Justin's family was actually pretty awesome. Justin's dad was a skinny thirty-five-year-old man, his first name being John. He had salt and pepper hair with light green eyes, the colour of celery. He was taller and I could see that Justin got his broad shoulders and extreme height from (seriously, Justin was 6'4"). He had a very serious nature, though, when you got to know him, he seemed to love to joke around.

Justin rubbed my back, his cheeks bright red. I finished coughing and cleared my throat. I wiped my eyes of the tears, both from choking and from laughter. "That," I said, "is a very good question, sir."

"Oh please, Rowen, I think you can call me John. Or perhaps Johnny X, whatever suits you," John said with a wink and a warm smile.

"Right, s-, I mean, John. Well, it was in ei-"

Justin had slapped his hand on my mouth. "No! Don't tell them! I will do anything!" he cried, his brown eyes wide.

I pried his large hand off of mine and, when that didn't work, I spat a glob of spit onto his palm. "EW!" he yelled and jumped off of his chair.

I burst out laughing. The other four all laughed at Justin. "You just _licked_ me!" he said, thoroughly disgusted.

I smirked at him and winked. He glared at me and poked his tongue out. I mimicked his action. "Anyway, as I was saying, it was in the eighth grade and Justin's friends thought that it would be a funny idea to dare him to talk to the prettiest girl in the class-"

"You promised you would never tell!" Justin interjected, his face and neck red.

"Yes, Justin, I know. But I don't care. How about you get one free favour from me if I get to tell them this, then?" I asked him and messed up his hair affectionately.

"Fine," he grumbled and picked at his coleslaw.

I rolled my eyes and continued, "Any who, he basically looked around the class like an idiot and..." I got lost in the flash back...

**Magical Flashback Thing I've Never Really Done Before Except For Once!**

_"So, I think we should all meet up at the mall sometime! I mean, I totally need to start looking for my dress for the Graduation like, right away." Joslin twirled her long, blonde hair around her finger. She blinked a couple of times, stupidly, her mascara covered eyelashes fluttering._

_"It's a farewell, Joslin," I said, annoyed. Why did I even hang out with this girl? I mean, she had been my best friend since the first grade, but she had changed this year. She had started wearing supper smelly, floral body spray and a ton of makeup. Not to mention the platform heels and her slutty tops she was adamant on wearing._

_"Ugh, whatever, Rowen," she snapped. "'Sides, Laurent is going to meet me there."_

_The other two girls beside me groaned. Laurent was Joslin's 'boyfriend' but we all knew she actually really liked this boy, Justin, and she was just using Laurent to make him jealous. _Like he would ever go for her,_ I thought viciously. I jarred myself out of that. I didn't like thinking that way._

_"Anyway, you totally need some new clothes, Rowen. I mean, really? You don't even have your ears pierced," Joslin said and scanned my body up and down, disgusted with my lack of interest in fashion. I was wearing a baggy hoodie and some straight leg jeans and my long brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail._

_"Whatever, Jo. Why don't _I _decide when I start changing my wardrobe choices, 'kay?" I said and turned away from her in a huff._

_She scoffed at me and suddenly squealed, "Oh my Gosh! He's actually coming up to us! Look! He's right there! Oh Gosh, he's so gorgeous!"_

_I looked in the direction where she was looking and my heart thumped in my chest. A tall, blond haired figured with broader shoulders and, even though I couldn't see them at the moment, warm, light brown eyes. Joslin flipped her hair over her shoulder and rearranged her posture so that she looked more voluptuous in the chest region. She grinned and wiggled her fingers at Justin. He raised two fingers in a form of salute. She bit her lip suggestively and said, "Oh hi, Justin! So, what's up?"_

_He stopped abruptly in front of her, as she had just sashayed in front of him. He looked really uncomfortable. His slightly chubby cheeks turned red and he swallowed visibly. "Um, yeah, hi Joslin. Actually, I wanted to talk to Rowen, so um yeah..."_

_Joslin's mouth went slack and her eyes went wide. I could see a group of boys laughing hard in the background. I assumed it was because Joslin was just humiliated in front of Justin. "Why would you want to talk to _her?"_ she asked in disbelief. I pursed my lips angrily; that one stung._

_"Um, excuse me," he said and pushed her out of the way lightly with his arm. Well, at least, Justin probably thought it was a light push, but Joslin fell backwards into a big mud puddle in the courtyard._

_"Jussy Wussy! What the hell!" Joslin yelled and crossed her arms angrily. Paige and Laura ran up behind her and helped her out of the puddle._

_I stifled a laugh behind the palm of my hand that quickly faltered when I saw who was standing in front of me. Justin Burke was standing in front of me, his dirty blonde hair tousled and messy, his brown eyes sparkling down at me. He was taller than I had thought, almost six feet. Quite tall for the eighth grade._

_"So, um, hi," he said and his face flushed. He cleared his throat nervously and ran a hand through his hair._

_"Hi?" I said back to him, equally nervous. I was very aware that a rather large group of girls was spying on us not-so discretely in a clump of bushes._

_"Uh, hi!" he squeaked and his voice cracked. His eyes widened and he blushed even deeper._

_"Hi..." I said, laughing nervously. Agh! No! Stop laughing!_

_"So, um, yeah, the guys dared me to come and, um talk to the prettiest girl in eighth grade and I think you are so yeah!" He said this very fast._

_I blinked at him stupidly. "Um, thanks, I guess," I said and blushed pink._

_We stood there for a moment, in an awkward silence. "So..." he said and after a while, slapping his thighs nervously, "how's life?"_

_I rolled my eyes at him, "Well..."_

**End Of Magical Flashback Thingy That I Don't Really Know What To Name!**

"And thus, the magical friendship of Rowen was born!" I said as I finished the story.

"Really? That's how you guys became friends? Justin was dared to talk to the prettiest girl in the eighth grade and he chose you?" Justin's mom, Carole, asked.

"Well, it's true," Justin grumbled.

I blushed as Carole cooed at her son. "Well, thank you so much for dinner, but I really must be getting home," I said.

"Oh no! Rowen, please, please, please stay and watch a movie with us! Daddy promised he'd let us rent one!" Wren pleaded. Her hazel eyes widened into a puppy dog look that she knew I couldn't resist.

"Oh, all right. If that's okay with you, Mr. and Mrs. Burke?" I asked and looked at the two parents.

Carole smiled at me warmly, "Absolutely, Rowen. You're more than welcome."

"Thanks," I said and Justin gave my hand a squeeze from under the table. I smiled at him and he smiled back. His light brown eyes seemed to pull me in and the smile slowly faded from my face into a transfixed gaze. He stared at me, as if he were memorizing each of my features.

"I think Rowen should help us choose the movie!" Wren screamed and Justin and I both jumped. Our foreheads bumped together and I winced. The adults were laughing silently into their napkins while the two younger ones were completely clueless as to what was going on.

"Right, I guess I'll help you now," I said and wiped my mouth.

"I'll help, to," Justin said and scooted out of his seat.

"I wanna come to!" Ben cried and crawled out of his seat.

"Okay, then. I guess we're all picking out a movie," I said.

"Actually, Rowen, if you wouldn't mind, could you and Justin do the dishes and we'll help the kids pick out a movie," Carole said. I shot her a grateful smile and she winked at me.

"No problem," I said and followed Justin into the kitchen. He turned on the tap and filled the sink with orange scented bubbles. I piled the various dishes into the sink and plunged my hands into the hot, soapy water.

I handed the dishes to Justin for him to dry. Each time he would dry one he would flick the excess water from his hands onto me, and I would flick some bubbles his way. Let's just say that in the end, it turned out into an all out bubble war.

"Oi! Let go of me, Row!" Justin screamed and scrabbled uselessly at my hands that were clamped firmly around his middle. I wrestled him to the ground.

I straddled him and grinned triumphantly. "I win," I said in a sing-song voice.

He glared at me playfully. "Whatever," he grumbled. I blew some bubbles from the floor onto his face and he coughed. "Oh that is it, Rowen!"

I squeaked and he pinned me to the ground. I kicked my legs from underneath him, attempting to kick him in the back, but no such luck. Damn him and his stupid muscles!

"I think I win," he whispered huskily into my ear. I shivered. "And I want my prize."

"Hm?" I said weakly. "And what would that be?"

He pressed his warm, full lips onto mine and my heart stuttered in my chest. My arms were still pinned to either sides of my head. He pressed down on my lips more firmly and I kissed back passionately.

"We've got the movie picked out! You done the dishes?" Carole yelled from the living room, though it wasn't necessary considering the fact that the living room was only about ten steps from the kitchen. We jumped apart. Justin rolled off of me and helped me up.

I straitened my hair and smoothed my rumpled clothes. "Um, yeah, be right there," I called and gave Justin one last kiss and ruffled his hair.

I walked into the living room and saw that John was sitting in the armchair beside the couch and Carole was sharing the couch with Wren and Ben. There wasn't any room to sit.

"Um, where do we sit?" Justin asked.

Carole gave us a devious grin. "Right there," she said and pointed to a blanket, spread out in front of the small T.V. and a few pillows propped up against the couch.

"Muuuuuuuum..." groaned Justin. "Why do you hate me?"

Carole snickered and gestured to the make-do bed. My face was burning. Slowly, and awkwardly, we walked to the pile of blankets and sat down as far away from each other as possible. John laughed silently into his hand at the awkwardness we displayed. "Oh, come on, you two. It's not like we're going to care if you cuddled or something."

"Snuggle," I corrected automatically.

"What/" Justin asked, bewildered.

I blushed. "It's, um, it's what Percy calls it, 'snuggling'. Sorry, never mind."

Justin laughed. "Oh, I am so using that against him next time I see him."

I grinned and him and scooted closer beside him. He pulled me against his body and we leaned back against the couch. I rested my head on his shoulder and didn't even noticed the little _click!_ sound of a camera taking a picture.

**I am Line Breaker! Hear me ROOOOAAAR!**

"Thanks for the awesome evening!" I grinned to Mr. and Mrs. Burke.

"It was wonderful to finally meet you, dear," Carole said honestly.

"Yeah, it was nice to finally meet the person our son wouldn't stop raving about," John said with a half-smile.

"Rowen! Don't go!" Ben yelled.

"Yeah! You could come and live with us! You could live in Justin's half of the room!" Wren said with a nod.

"Um, as much as I would love that, my dad is waiting outside and I have to leave," I said and gave them a hug.

The family all left, leaving Justin and I behind in the doorway. "Well, good-bye, then," Justin said.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," I said. Justin tilted my chin with his thumb and forefinger and gave me slow kiss.

"Love you," he whispered.

"Love you too," I said back and gave him another kiss on the cheek. I gotta say, that even after all of the banquets and fancy dinners I'd been to, the one at Justin's small apartment with his parents and his siblings, eating hot dogs and coleslaw was the best dinner date I'd ever had. And I would remember it forever.

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**Thanks for reading!**

**Another weird question: Have any of you hear of the Youtuber charlieissocoollike? 'Cause if you haven't, look him up because he's amazing. Especially his balloon animal video!**

**Live, Love, Laugh, and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	8. Chapter 8

**Heeelllooo! I'm sorry the last chapter didn't have any Percabeth in it, but this one is chalk full of it (in my opinion, of course)! Also, I'm skipping the last period, which is just their electives, I believe, and they're at Percy's apartment because nothing interesting was going to happen, anyway! Sorry if you don't like it, but I'm the author so, yeah!**

**If anyone cares, we got a silver (:[) in our Musical Theatre number (Dancing Queen, groan!), a platinum (Holy SHIT!) in Lyrical, and a platinum in our production, The Lorax, this weekend! Seriously, I was SO surprised by the platinum in Lyrical because I completely forgot the dance onstage, lol! And now I have eyelash glue stuck on my eyelids from my fake eyelashes that probably won't come off until next week! Ugh! The things you do for dance, you know?**

**Questions:**

**Q: What is your favourite song?**

**A: At the moment, it's _Burning Bridges_ by OneRepulic (I just bought a new album of theirs and haven't been listening to anything else for the past couple days, lol).**

**Q: What's your favourite colour?**

**A: Um, number 1 is purple (darker), number 2 is bright blue and number 3 is a jade green.**

**Q: Cats or dogs?**

**A: BOTH! I have two dogs (Guinness and Tessa) and two cats (Lizzie and Georgette) and ten fish at my house!**

**Disclaimer: Je ne possède pas les rites de PJO. Ce sont seulement pour Rick Riordan. (You can guess what that means...)**

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"Percy...!" I gasped.

He looked up at me, his green eyes glinting madly. "What? What did I do?" he asked, faking innocence.

I narrowed my eyes at him and grabbed his face with my hands and kissed him furiously. He maneuvered his hand up and under my shirt so it was resting on the middle of my bare back. I gasped in his mouth and he pulled me tighter against his body. I crossed my ankles around his middle, so that he was carrying me. My hands ran through his thick, thick, black hair, pulling it when he did something amazing (which was a lot). My head fell back in pleasure as he kissed my jawbone hungrily.

We were in his bedroom. After our elective classes, Paul drove us back to Percy's apartment where we hurriedly escaped to his room to do homework. Well, it started out as us doing homework but then Percy said something stupid and my hormones got the best of me. I pretty much attacked him and started kissing him. You could say that we were feeling a little kiss-deprived from a day at school, with the heavy teacher supervision and the crowds of students in the halls. He was like my own personal drug. But, the good kind, the kind that saves lives.

Percy worked his way up my to shoulder (which was bare because my t-shirt had slipped off of my one shoulder) to my mouth. After a couple of seconds he pulled away and set me down on his bed. We curled into one ball, so tightly woven you couldn't tell whose limbs were whose.

"We really should get our homework done," I whispered after a while.

"Mmhm," Percy muttered into my tangled hair. He shifted his position so I was even closer to his body.

"I mean, we should get it done now," I whispered again.

Percy groaned. "Annabeth... No... Don't let school ruin the moment," he said and traced a finger up my back, which had become uncovered by my t-shirt when it had ridden up.

My breath hitched in my throat. "Oh, you suck, Jackson," I muttered.

I felt Percy smirk into my hair and his hand began slowly moving down to my stomach. "I suck, now do I? I think you'd like to reconsider that," he said and slowly kissed my mouth.

I pulled away from his lips. "Yeah, you pretty much suck," I said and smirked at him.

He made a face and I laughed. "I love you," he whispered.

A lazy smile made its way onto my face. "I love you, too. So, so much."

"I know," he said cockily.

I shoved his shoulder. "Douche," I muttered to him. His chest vibrated from his silent laughs. He kissed my hair. We lay there for a while in a comfortable silence. The light from the sun slowly faded and was replaced by the muted light of twilight.

"Dinner!" Sally called from the kitchen.

Percy sighed unhappily and untangled our limbs from each other. I shivered by the sudden lack of warmth. I grabbed a sweater of Percy's from the floor and threw it on. He raised an eyebrow at me but slowly shook his head, chuckling. I rolled my eyes at him and followed him out of his room.

We sat down at the table beside each other. Paul grabbed a big bowl of Caesar salad and piled some onto his plate. "So," he said, "homework done?"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. "Not quite," Percy said.

Paul chuckled to himself. "So, Annabeth, I got a call from your dad," he said and my head snapped to his direction. I hadn't seen my dad in...forever. I was supposed to visit him during the summer and Easter break, but then Gaea was waking and we were at war and in Tartarus.

"My dad?" I asked.

"Yeah, he said that him and your stepmom and brothers were going to come to New York to see you this weekend," Paul replied.

I dropped my fork onto my plate and my mouth went slack. "What?" I asked. I wasn't sure how I felt about that; on one hand, I really missed my dad and really wanted to see him again, but on the other, Percy had never really met my dad on proper terms. Heck, the last time they met, he demanded that he use his van (that he destroyed) and I was kidnapped and in danger of dying (what else was new?).

Percy's POV

Annabeth's dad was coming to New York. In two days (school started on Wednesday because Monday was Labor Day and Tuesday was registration for the freshmen). Cue mini panic attack!

I ran a hand through my hair. I looked at Annabeth, who was frozen in shock. Her story eyes were wide and disbelieving. Her hand was frozen in the same position it had been when she was holding her fork (that had fallen into her salad). "And when did he make that decision?" she whispered to Paul, her eyes still wide in shock.

"Apparently they wanted to surprise you because you had such a... crappy summer," Paul said.

I chuckled. "Crappy sure is the word to describe it."

"Pft!" Annabeth said. "We really should be used to it by now. I mean, this is, what six summers of monsters and quests, and blah, blah, blah!"

I laughed. "We really should be. You'd think we'd catch a break, but no! Hera needs me to pull a switcheroo to destroy yet _another_ crazy evil force."

Annabeth's face turned thoughtful. "You know, once you get past the terrifying part, it was kinda fun," she remarked.

I starred at her like she was from Mars.

"I mean, it was kinda fun killing that army of telekhines, right?" she asked, trying to get her point across.

I thought about it for a while. "Yeah, that was pretty sweet. But I think stabbing those gorgons was the most fun. They were dead once and for all. And it was about time. I swear, I killed them about a million times on my way to the Roman camp."

Annabeth threw her head back and laughed. "That would be nice," she giggled. "Remember Leo and his, quote, un-quote, 'aweso-mazing wall of fire'?"

"Oh man! That was so cool!" I said. "But not nearly as cool as my wall of water, drowning a whole entire army or Gaea's evil meanies."

"It wasn't cool when you passed out after that, though," Annabeth pointed out.

I starred at my chicken Caesar salad. "Well, I was still drained from Tarta..." I trailed off. It seemed like the room had dropped ten degrees in temperature. Annabeth looked down to her plate and pushed around some lettuce on her plate with her fork. "Never mind." I cleared my throat.

My mom looked nervous, like we were two toddlers that were about to throw a fit. Paul just looked sad, pitying even. "Well, that was a lovely supper. Thanks Sally," Paul said and got up from the table. "It's your turn for dishes tonight, Percy, don't forget."

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Yeah, sure." Paul looked at me with pity. His eyes were full of understanding. I don't know why I did it, but I just snapped. "Would you stop looking at me like that? Like you understand? 'Cause you don't! None of you understand! You'll never understand! You don't know what it's like down there! No light, no warmth, and no way out. It's like you're trapped. All those days when you don't sleep at all because you're afraid you'll die or your girlfriend will die. It's like you're trapped in some nightmare that you just can't wake up from. None of you know... None of you get it..."

Tears were falling freely down my cheeks now. I collapsed to my knees. Terrifying images from Tartarus flashed in front of my eyes. All those sleepless nights, the monsters coming at us in tens and twenties, Annabeth almost dying.

Annabeth got up from her chair and knelt beside me. She pulled me against her and stroked my hair. "Sh... It's okay now. We're okay now... It's all done... You don't ever have to do that again..." Annabeth murmured these words to me. She pushed my messy hair out of my eyes and pressed her lips to my forehead. I buried my face into the crook of her neck and my hot tears slipped down my nose and landed onto her chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

Sally's POV

Tears filled my eyes as I watched Percy, my baby, kneeling on the floor, completely broken. He had finally broken. Annabeth stroked his hair and murmured words into his ears, trying to calm him down. I couldn't help but think how that was my job. That I, as his mother, should be by his side and comforting him. But no, that wasn't the case. Annabeth was the one to do this. He wasn't my little boy anymore.

Percy sniffled and wiped his eyes. Annabeth looked at him in the eyes. Her eyes bore into his, radiating pure love, his reflecting the same emotion. "Better?" she whispered to him. She brushed his bangs out of his eyes gently. He nodded to her slightly and she smiled sadly. She kissed him lightly and rested her forehead on top of his. For a moment they stood there, staring into each other's eyes. Paul pulled me against his body and kissed the top of my head. I looked into his brown eyes and saw that they were sparkling with tears. "I never knew," he murmured thickly.

I choked on a sob. _My boy... My poor, precious boy..._ "I know," I whispered back. He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze.

"I'm going to bed," Percy said finally. He got up and started to his bedroom, but I ran in front of him and gave him a hug. He quickly returned it and I felt tears soak through my shirt. "I'm sorry," he murmured into my shoulder.

I pulled away and brushed his forever-messy bangs out of his eyes. "I know, baby. I know that this sucks, and you never deserved it. Never ever. I'm sorry, too. If you ever need to talk, I'm always here. Now, you'd better get to bed. You need your rest."

He nodded and kissed my cheek. He grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her to down the hallway. Paul pulled me beside him and gave me a hug. "They never deserved it," I whispered to no one in particular.

"I know," Paul replied. "I know."

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**Thanks for reading! Thanks for all the a-ma-zing reviews! Seriously, 311 already?! That's insane!**

**Live, Love, Laugh, and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hello! I'm so sorry that I didn't update earlier. You see, the snow finally melted and my sister and I have been riding our bikes like crazy. I love bike riding! Just saying!**_

_**Questions:**_

_**Q: What is your biggest pet **_**_peeve?_**

**_A: I'd have to say that when people chew with their mouth open is probably the biggest pet peeve for me. It's just so...gross and annoying..._**

**_Q: How old are you?_**

**_A: I'm just about 14. Just a couple more weeks and I won't be the puny 13-year-old! Yay!_**

**_Disclaimer: Yeah, that's right. I'm actually Rick Riordan, the millionaire author who lives in Texas, and I took the time to create a fake fanfiction account of a thirteen-year-old girl who lives in Saskatchewan, Canada. Y'know, I just have that kind of free time._**

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Annabeth's POV

I rolled over onto my side and wrapped an arm around Annabeth's slim waist. She grumbled a bit in her sleep and rolled over so her face was hidden in the crook of my neck. My heart thumped into my chest. Why did she have this effect on me? Her eyes fluttered open a bit and I got lost in the never ending pools of grey.

"Hey," she whispered, her voice gravelly and quiet from tiredness and sleep.

I felt a small smile tug at the corners of my mouth. "Hey," I replied back. She smiled up at me and rubbed her eyes from the sleep. I kissed the top of her head and gave her a gentle squeeze.

She sat up and tucked her knees under her chin. I propped myself up on my elbows. "What's up, Wise Girl?" I asked her quietly.

"Nothing," she said. "I just really don't want to go to school today."

I chuckled. "I know, right? I just want to laze around in bed all day."

She looked at me amusedly. "You would," she said with her signature smirk.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" I asked and she smirked at me again. She reached behind me and at first I thought she was going to kiss me or something, but apparently that wasn't the case. She reached over and ripped the pillow out from under my head. She brought it over her head and slammed it down over my face. She began beating repeatedly with the pillow. I threw my arms over my head in an attempt to block myself from her brutal beatings. "Ow!-Wise Girl! What are you-OH IT'S ON!"

I grabbed the other pillow from behind me and started attacking her just as furiously. She screeched as I tumbled forward and pushed her to the ground. I straddled her and pinned her arms above her head with my one hand and began tickling her stomach with the other.

"P-Percy! St-St-Stop! I sur-ren-ender!" she gasped through her giggles. Her face was bright red and her eyes were glinting with both anger and mischief. She was going to get me back for this, I just knew it.

"Nuh uh, not gonna happen until you say, 'Percy Jackson is a sexy beast!'" I said and continued tickling her.

"Ne-Never!" she cried.

"Well then I'll just keep on tickling you," I said. Annabeth glowered at me the best she could while she was laughing. It wasn't working very well on her part.

"Fine! Percy Jackson i-is a sexy b-beast!" she yelled and I grinned at her. I stopped tickling her and got off her lap. She glared at me and got up. "You suck," she grumbled. I grinned at her and shrugged.

"I know," I said. She punched in the gut and I winced. "What was that for?"

"For being a Seaweed Brain!" she said. She then pulled me in for a sweet, lingering kiss. My eyes widened in surprise, but I slowly sank into the kiss, warmth seeping into me like after drinking a hot drink on a cold winter's day.

I rested my forehead on hers. "And what was that for?"

"For being a Seaweed Brain," she whispered, a small smile tugging on her lips. I grinned and her and we walked into the kitchen. A note was taped on the door of the fridge. I pealed it off and read:

_Had to go to work early this morning. Paul has a meeting at school, so he can't give you a ride. There's some money under the cookie plate for the bus. Won't be back until around 8 PM tonight. Money for dinner also under the plate. Order anything you want!_

_And no parties please!_

_Sorry I couldn't see you this morning, honey! I love you,_

_Mom_

"Huh," I said to myself. "I wonder why she needed to be at work so early?"

Annabeth rested her chin on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my stomach from behind. "Maybe she needed to cover someone's shift?"

"Maybe," I mumbled and pocketed the note. "So, what do you want for breakfast?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I dunno. I'm just gonna make some toast. You want some?"

I nodded and set some Cheese Whiz, strawberry jam and peanut butter down on the counter. Annabeth pulled the bread out of the pantry and put two slices in the toaster. She grabbed a carton of orange juice and milk and poured a tall glass of orange juice for herself and a glass of milk for me. I pulled her beside me and took a swig of milk. She laughed lightly at my milk moustache and wiped it away with her thumb. I smirked at her and she smiled at me. "Annabeth?" I asked.

"Hm?" she replied contentedly. She sounded as if she were in some sort of trance.

"Do you ever want to have kids?" I asked and immediately wished I could sew up my mouth. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ I thought.

Annabeth looked startled. "Um, why do you ask?"

I shrugged. My cheeks felt like they were on fire and I cooled them with the backs of my hands. "I dunno. Just doing some, uh, late night thinking last night."

Annabeth swallowed and blushed. "Um, yeah. I guess I do some day. I don't know, really. I mean, it would be dangerous for me to have kids, with all the monsters running around and trying to kill us, me! I meant me, I swear! Um...uh... W-what about you?"

"Yeah, I think I do," I said slowly. I didn't want to creep her out or anything. "I would like that. I guess it would be kinda scary when the monsters attack, but if I can survive Kronos, Gaea and Tartarus, I think I can protect my kids."

Annabeth swallowed awkwardly. "Yeah, yeah, I guess."

"What's wrong?" I asked. She looked almost sad. No, not sad, worried.

She shook her head in response.

"Annabeth," I said and looked into her big, grey eyes. "Talk to me."

She licked her lips. "Just, this talk about a future family, it makes me sad to think that I don't know if I'll be the one who..."

I blinked stupidly; she was scared that I wouldn't marry her in the future. Well, this was awkward... "Wise Girl, I would never, ever even _think_ of marrying someone who wasn't you. You honestly think that I would leave you? Never. I'm never gonna leave my Wise Girl ever again. Not if I have anything to say about it."

She smiled at me and I gave her a hug. She sighed into my shoulder. "Good, because then I'd have to hunt you down and kill you."

I chuckled into her hair. "I love you, 'Beth."

"I love you, too, Seaweed Brain." We jumped apart as the toast popped out of the toaster. We looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Wow, we really are jumpy! Chiron was right!" I laughed.

Annabeth smirked at me, her grey eyes shining. "When hasn't he been?"

I shrugged. "Never."

"I'm going to go get ready. Make me my toast, will you?" Annabeth asked.

I kissed her and mumbled against her soft lips, "Of course."

"Remember, Cheese-"

"-Whiz and strawberry jam. I know how you eat your toast, Annabeth. How do you even eat your toast like that? It's so gross..." I said and wrinkled my nose.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's _good_. 'Sides, Luke showed me it when I was little." She faltered a little when she said Luke's name. I ran my fingers through her hair and kissed her nose. She smiled at me sadly. "I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"Not gonna happen, Wise Girl. Fatal flaw, y'know?" She rolled her eyes at me and walked out of my arms. I heard the bathroom door close behind her. I started spreading Cheese Whiz and jam onto Annabeth's piece of bread. I was about to start on piece of toast when I heard a piercing scream come from the bathroom.

"Percy! Help!" Annabeth screamed. I threw the butter knife onto the counter and ran to the bathroom door.

"Annabeth, you okay?" I called through the door. I only got a pathetic whimper in reply. "Annabeth!"

"Percy! Sp-Spider!" Oh no.

"Annabeth, can you grab a towel, or something? I-I'm coming in," I said.

"O-Okay," she stuttered. "Hurry, please!"

I pushed open the door. "I'm coming in." I peaked through the crack slowly. Annabeth was standing in the middle of the bathtub, a fluffy, white towel around her chest. Her blond hair was wet and hanging in strands around her face and down her back, her eyes were wide with fear. A large, hairy spider was creeping up the tile of the shower. It was black and around two inches in width. It was pretty darn big; I could see why she was freaking out. "It's okay Annabeth, just calm down."

Annabeth whimpered and looked at me with big, fearful eyes. I wadded up a piece of toilet paper and squashed the spider with the wad. It made a quiet crunching noise and I swallowed bile as I saw a red stain on the paper. Oh gods, the spider had sucked someone's blood. Ew...

"There, all gone," I said and threw the squashed spider in the garbage. Annabeth threw herself into my arms and crashed her lips onto mine. I tangled my hand into her hair and she placed her hands on my chest.

She pulled away too quickly for my taste. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Yeah," I said. We both blushed when we saw that she was only wearing a towel.

She cleared her throat. "I'm, um, gonna go, um, get dressed."

"Yeah, um, uh, yeah, you, um, you do th-that," I stuttered and stumbled out of the bathroom. I ran to the kitchen and quickly shoved a piece of toast into my mouth, not caring that it was only half covered in peanut butter. Oh gods, I just saw Annabeth in only a towel. _I just saw Annabeth in only a towel._

And Athena was going to kill me.

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_**I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for the amazing reviews! Seriously, guys, they are amazing! I just, wow... I love you guys!**_

_**Thank you so bloody much!**_

_**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**_

_**~Lou XOXO**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey! I'm sorry I didn't update earlier... Again... I am actually in recital mode right now and I have two brand new numbers to learn in a matter of three weeks. For those of you who don't dance, that's pretty hard! So, in other words, updates will be a lot less frequent. Sorry! It's just until the end of May. And then I go to California for ten days, so, scratch that, until about mid-June. :) Sorry!**

**Also, yes, I _know_ I made a mistake in the last chapter. It was supposed to be Percy's POV, but I typed Annabeth's POV. I know, okay. I get it. I'm sorry I am a mere Mortal and not a divine creature of the universe!**

**Questions:**

**Q: Have you read all the books so far?**

**A: Of course! I bought the Son of Neptune the day it came out! Same with the Mark of Athena! And, hopefully, same with the House of Hades!**

**Q: What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you onstage?**

**A: Hmm... Okay, so, last year, i had my first vocal solo that was given to me like a week before recital (I had had lots of solos beforehand, I just had a lot more time to practice them). So, anyway, I was onstage and I had the microphone in my hand and I started to sing and then forgot all of my words. And then, to make matters worse, I said, into the mic, "Oh jeez!"**

**Yeah, I don't think I'll ever be able to live that down... :(**

**Disclaimer: Dear Rick Riordan,**

**For my birthday this year (which is a couple of weeks, by the way :]), I would like all the rights regarding PJO! That means, that I don't own them now, but, please, please, please, give them to me for my birthday!**

**Sincerely,**

**Lou**

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So, apparently, Athena was in a forgiving mood, because I didn't die before we got to school that day.

Right now, I was in Math, not really paying attention. I was mostly starring out the window, wishing I was outside. It was a beautiful day; birds chirping, sun shining through the window, warming the class, and the trees swaying slightly in the cool breeze. Ugh, why did have to be in math? I was never going to use it in life!

"Percy, care to solve this equation?" Mrs. Doyle snapped at me. I jumped and glanced at the board. The numbers and letters started swimming around, doing one-eighties.

"Um..." I said stupidly. My face turned bright red. Thankfully, I was saved by a person stumbling through the door.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I got lost," the girl said. The class' heads all snapped in her direction. She was medium height with a stocky build. She had frizzy red hair that was pulled into a messy bun-like style, brown eyes that were lined with black eyeliner and her pale cheeks were covered in a splash of orange freckles. "Um, yeah..."

"Ah, yes, you're the new student?" Mrs. Doyle asked.

"Yeah, that's me. Sorry I wasn't at school yesterday. I had to help unpack," the girl said. Her voice was deeper than the usual girl's voice, and rougher. She sounded kind of familiar.

"Well, why don't you introduce yourself, then?" Mrs. Doyle asked and stepped aside so the girl could stand in front of the class.

She stood in front of the class, her schedule crumpled in her fist, her weight on one hip. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Um, okay then. My name's Nancy Bobofit and I just moved here from Brooklyn."

What? Nancy. Bobofit? What? The girl who had bullied Grover and I for the whole of sixth grade was going to Goode? What?

"Welcome to Goode, Miss Bobofit. Why don't you have a seat... Ah, yes. Just take the seat across from Percy, why don't you?" Nancy shuffled awkwardly to her seat. She sat down and set her bag down beside her chair. She pulled out a notebook and tucked a pen behind her ear.

"Hey, I'm Nancy. You're Percy?" she asked and I could only gape at her. She looked so much different than when she was in the sixth grade. Of course, I wasn't checking her out. I would never do that; I loved Annabeth. In the sixth grade, she had been on the chubbier side. Now, she had thinned out drastically. Her face was less round, so her high cheekbones showed in her rounded features. Her legs were long and muscular and her whole demeanour was different; more graceful, elegant. "Um, hello?" She waved her hand in front of my face.

I shook myself mentally. "Nancy?" I breathed. "_You're_ Nancy?"

"Um, yeah, I am," she said and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Holy shit, you've changed," I said, still looking at her, wide-eyed.

Annabeth shook my arm. "You okay, Seaweed Brain?"

"What do you mean, I've changed? Do I know you?" Nancy and examined me some more. Then, her eyes widened in recognition. "Wait. _Percy?__"_

Nancy's POV

Holy crap, what the hell happened to him? _This_ was Percy Jackson, the geeky eleven-year-old I used to pick on? This handsome, tall, muscular, black-haired and green-eyed boy was the same scrawny boy I used to bully? _What?_

"Um, yeah," Percy said and his eyebrows scrunched together in a way that was quite cute.

"Percy, do you know her?" a blonde girl sitting beside Percy asked and gripped his arm. She was really pretty; grey eyes framed in long, thick black eyelashes that you couldn't get from even the best mascara and blonde curls that cascaded down to the middle of her back.

"Yeah... Yeah, I do. You remember that girl I told you about? That one from the sixth grade?" Percy told her. His eyes seemed to sparkle with something when he looked at her.

"The girl who used to bully you and Grover? Wait, _that's _her?" the blonde asked and gaped at me.

"Yeah, that, that's her," Percy said. There was an awkward silence, with the teacher talking in the background about variables. "So," Percy said, breaking the silence. "How you been, Nancy?"

I blinked stupidly. "Um, good, I guess. I got kicked out of Yancy in grade seven then I went to this other school and my parents decided to straighten me out. So, I joined ballet and basically got a scholarship to come here and dance for the dance team." Percy nodded as if this explained something. "You?"

Percy shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I mean, more than okay. I started going to this... summer camp and met a bunch of friends there. Actually, some go here now. And then I met Annabeth, here-" He gestured to the blonde, Annabeth, and I noticed their joined hands under the table. "-and had some adventures. That's pretty much it. Other than some other expulsions, etcetera."

I smiled at him and it faded slowly as I remembered what I did to him. I had tortured him. I made him feel worthless. Guilt swirled in my stomach, making me feel like I was going to throw up. There was another awkward pause. "I'm sorry," I finally blurted out. He looked at me confusedly. Annabeth eyed me cautiously with her calculating eyes. i couldn't help but feel mildly intimidated by her stare. I cleared my throat. "Um, I'm sorry, about what I, you know, did to you. I have changed, you know. I'm not like that anymore, I swear."

Percy nodded and gave me a crooked smile. "It's okay. Believe it or not, sixth grade bullies are not my biggest problem in my life."

I smiled at him. Beside him, Annabeth was laughing silently into his shoulder, like it was some sort of inside joke. She looked at me, her intimidating stare now replaced with sparkling grey eyes and an amused smile. I also sensed something else in her eyes; a lingering sadness. I knew then that she had been through a lot in her life. She had seen things she shouldn't have seen so young. "I'm Annabeth," she said. Her voice was light and happy, though that same sadness draped on it, weighing it down.

"Nancy," I said.

"You forgot 'Wise Girl'," Percy mumbled into her ear. I saw him kiss her jawbone swiftly. Were they together?

Her face turned pink at the feel of the kiss. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain," she muttered and shoved him. He laughed lightly at her and gave her a quick kiss. Oh yeah, they definitely together. She blushed even more and punched his shoulder.

"You three, back there. Stop fooling around back there, or you will have detention!" Mrs. Doyle snapped at us. I rolled my eyes and began copying down notes from the board.

**Look it's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's an egg salad sandwich! No, it's not! It's a line breaker!**

Percy's POV

The piercing sound of the bell filled my ears and I slammed my books shut. Annabeth shook her head, chuckling lightly, and finished her last algebra problem.

"C'mon, Wise Girl," I said and took her hand. As we were about to walk through the door, Mrs. Doyle stopped us.

"Percy, I would like you to show Miss Bobofit around the school for the day," she said and smiled sweetly at us.

"Sure thing, Mrs. Doyle," I muttered, though on the inside, I was flipping her off. I really didn't want to be responsible for another person during the day.

Nancy was slipping her books into her book bag. She slung it over her shoulder and looked at Annabeth and I quizzically. "We're showing you around today," I said with a smile. She nodded in understanding.

"So," she said. "How long have two known each other?"

I started to laugh and Annabeth elbowed me in the side. "Um, well we were twelve so... about six years now."

"Wow, that's a long time," Nancy remarked.

"So, you said that you do ballet?" I asked her, trying to make some sort of conversation.

Nancy laughed. "And point, jazz, lyrical, tap, contemporary, and I also started singing lessons a couple years ago."

"Wow," I said, dumbfounded. "That's a lot."

Nancy sighed. "Yeah, it keeps me occupied. It was also my saving grace of sorts. I stopped channeling my anger into, well, you know, and started channeling it into dance."

Annabeth gave a short laugh. "Oh, I know what you mean."

Nancy raised an eyebrow at her. "You dance?"

I threw my head back and laughed. Annabeth elbowed me in the gut, again. "No, I meant about the whole anger thing. I do combat."

"I figured," Nancy smiled. "You don't have that certain... What's the word? Well, usually you can tell who does and doesn't dance, 'cause dancers have this certain aura around them, you know what I mean?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, yeah I know. It's like an aura of grace and elegance. Well, at least with ballet dancers."

Nancy nodded in agreement. "That's the word. They also have a certain body type, but, of course, you shouldn't judge someone based on their body type."

"Yeah, yeah I agree. So, where do you dance?" I asked, randomly popping back into the conversation. Hey, I wanted to be in the conversation as well.

"Um, I actually dance at Broadway Dance Centre," Nancy said sheepishly and hugged her text book to her chest.

Annabeth's eyes popped out of her head. "That's one of the best dance schools in New York!" she exclaimed.

"How do you know that?" I asked her.

She rolled her eyes. "I was looking up Architecture schools on the internet one day, and, well, it's the internet, what do you think happened?"

"Fair enough," I said to her and gave a kiss on the top of the head. "So, what do you have next, Nancy?"

"Um," Nancy mumbled and pulled her schedule out of her back pocket of her jeans. "I have Greek with Miss Hoberman. You?"

I laughed. "Same. You'll _love_ Miss Hoberman, trust me." Sarcasm dripped from my voice.

"Oh no," she groaned. "Why do I have a feeling that you're being sarcastic?"

"That's 'cause he is!" Annabeth said brightly. "C'mon!"

And with that, we all linked arms and skipped down the hallway.

* * *

**I always thought that, deep down, Nancy was a good person. I think that she was just neglected at home and her parents didn't care about her and that's why she bullied Percy. Anyway, it doesn't matter if you don't agree with me, I'm the author of this! ;)**

**Anywho, thanks a bunch for all the reviews! Seriously, 422 for just nine, well, ten now, chapter?! That's frigging insane!**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	11. Chapter 11

**Umm... Hi? Okay, I know I haven't updated in so long! I'm so so sorry! And, the sad thing is that it's only going to get worse during the next couple weeks! 3 Sorry! you know I love you guys! Thanks for the reviews, BTW! Seriously, almost 500 reviews for ten chapters? My mind = blown!**

**Questions:**

**Q: What is the story behind your pename?**

**A: Okay, so, as many of you have probably guessed, 'Lou' isn't my real name. It's actually the shortened version of my middle name, which is Louise. My real name actually starts with 'Em' so, I'll leave you to guess what it is. :) Anyway, so a couple years ago, in grade six, I was making my name tag for band, as it was our first band class, and I wrote the E and the M too big, so I had to scrap it. And then, Aggie took it and wrote BLAH at the end of it and thus, emblah was born! Yeah... Lame story, but you asked!**

**Disclaimer: (To the tune of _Mary Had A Little Lamb_)**

**I don't o-own this book series,**

**This book series,**

**This book series,**

**I don't o-own this book series,**

**Rick Ri-ordan doooes...!**

**WARNING: Do NOT continue reading this if you are against gays! There is a gay character being revealed! I don't want any flack for this; it's rated T for a reason! And there's a REALLY bad verbal scene at the end of the chapter, so... If you don't like it, skip it. Thanks :)**

* * *

Nancy's POV

As Percy and Annabeth walked me to Greek, I couldn't help but notice how the sunlight made Annabeth's hair look like gold. _Whoa, Nancy, stop starring!_ I told myself and looked at my shoes. They were old, holey, red Toms that I had bought a couple of years ago. Annabeth laughed, a light, airy sound that sounded like twinkling, silver bells.

Okay, I admit, I was a lesbian. Well, sort of; I had never had a girlfriend but boys never seemed to trigger the feelings that I had when I looked at some girls.

There was this one girl at my old school in Maryland, Beth and I really liked her. One day, when she was over at my house, she kissed me. I thought she would ask me out or something but, as it turned out, when I got to school the next day, everyone was avoiding me and when they did talk to me, it was with words that would cut into me. The other girls demanded that I change in the stretching room for gym, where anyone could walk in, so 'I wouldn't look at them'. In the end, I took the opportunity to move in with my dad and his new wife so I could move schools and not have to deal with all the drama at my old school.

"You okay, Nancy?" Percy asked me.

I shook myself out of my thoughts. "Um, yeah, I guess."

He looked at me with concern. "You sure?"

I sighed. "No, not I'm not. I have to tell you something."

He looked at me quizzically, like he couldn't decide whether or not he trusted me. I couldn't blame him. I took a deep breath but no sound came out. Then, the bell rang. "C'mon, Nancy, we gotta get to class fast!" Annabeth grinned and grabbed my hand.

Percy chuckled at his girlfriend and we took off down the hallway. We skidded into Greek class and Percy, being the ever graceful by he was, managed to trip over his own feet and fall on his face.

Annabeth burst out laughing. "Nice going, Seaweed Brain," she snickered and Percy made a face at her. Percy pushed himself up off the ground. The two took their seats at the back of the class and I took the one just in front of them. Miss Hoberman strutted through the door, and I swear I gagged when I took a look at her.

She was short and pudgy with died platinum blonde hair and a face that looked like it had been stretched too far when she got Botox or something. Her eyes were too big for her face and were a pale, ice blue colour. Her mouth was wide and thin, painted a washed out pink. Her eyelids were covered in purple and blue eyeshadow and her wrinkly skin was smothered in too much foundation. Her sweater was frumpy and a light, baby pink and her bright pink skinny jeans made me want to throw up in my mouth. Honestly, some people just shouldn't be allowed to dress themselves. She also wore bright blue high heeled pumps that looked extremely small and painful. And the scent of her flowery perfume was overwhelming. All in all, she was a hideous woman.

"Good morn-" Miss Hoberman's too sweet voice was interrupted by three figures bursting through the door. A latino boy with short curly hair and mischievous brown eyes and two identical boys with wavy light-brown hair, cocky grins, upturned eyebrows and noses and glinting light brown eyes ran into the room, clutching stitches in their sides and laughing hysterically.

"Di-Did you see her face?" the Latino elfish boy laughed and clutched at a desk. The girl inside the desk raised an eyebrow at him and looked at her friend like, _Can you believe this kid?_

"I know! Gods, we gotta do that again!" one of the twins (at least, they looked like twins) laughed and clutched his stomach.

"Mr. Valdez, Mr Stoll and Mr Stoll! Would you so kindly take your seats so I can continue with this class?" Miss Hoberman snapped.

The twins raised their eyebrows at the teacher and snickered to themselves. The other boy rolled his eyes and sat down beside me. The two brothers sauntered to the two seats in front of me, pushing and punching each other the whole way there.

"Thank you, now we can continue with today's lesson on creating sentences in the Greek language," Miss Hoberman said and glared at the three boys. Her voice faded into a indistinct murmur.

I tapped the Latino boy on the shoulder and he turned towards me, hastily shoving some paper clips and a rubber band into his pocket. "Hi," I said stupidly.

He grinned at me, a crazy, sly grin that made me think that he belonged in some sort of mental institution. "Hi, you new?" he asked me.

"Um, yeah. My name's Nancy," I said.

"The name's Leo. Or Supreme Lord, or Master of Awesomeness, or Mister Sexy. You know, whichever you prefer," he said to me and grinned.

I laughed lightly. "I'll remember that, Master of Awesomeness."

"I like you," Leo said and wiggled his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes at him. "So, where're you from?"

"I just moved here from Maryland," I said.

Leo nodded. "Cool, why'd you move."

"Um..." This was exactly what I wanted to avoid talking about on my first day; why I'd moved. I didn't exactly want to tell anyone just yet. "I, um, my dad got a good job offer and it would be better for my dance career if I moved to New York, so I moved in with him and his new wife."

Leo nodded understandingly. "Cool... So, what's your dad like?"

I bit my lip. "Um, he's, um... Well, he's not really home a lot, so I wouldn't really know. I never really got to know him; he and my mom split up when I was super young and my mom got full custody of me. And he never came to visit that often; he stopped completely when I turned eleven. And then mom was never there for me and she always told me that she hated me and that I was the spawn of the devil and that I was going to hell for various reasons. And she would always send me away to these stupid boarding schools for troubled kids all around the country in order to 'straighten me out' and she pretty much hates me now. And now my dad's married some stupid, slutty blonde who's way too young for him and it's his fifth marriage since my mom divorced him. So, yeah, my dad's pretty much a douche and my mom's a jerk." I finished my rant and looked away from Leo's concerned face. I felt my face and neck heat up in embarrassment. Had I seriously just opened up to a total and complete stranger? Good Lord.

"Sorry about that," I said after a while and started taking notes from the board.

Leo sighed. "It's okay. Trust me. I have a pretty messed up family, too, you know."

"Oh?" I looked at him quizzically.

Leo chuckled. "Well, I've only seen my dad twice in my life and my mom died in a fire when I was eight **(Did I get the age right? Sorry if I didn't. It's been a while since I've read the second series.)** and I've been living in orphanages and running away from them ever since. That is, until now. I'm actually renting an apartment with my two best friends just a couple blocks away from the school."

"Well, that sucks," I whispered.

Leo chuckled. "Yeah, that's one way of putting it."

I didn't know why I was opening up to him when I had just met him. Leo had this aura around him; and aura of trust. Like, you couldn't help but trust him with all of your secrets.

Leo smiled at me and turned back to fiddling with his paper clips and rubber bands. I slumped down in my desk and started doodling in my notebook, praying that the lesson would be over soon.

**Dayum! It's a line breaker!**

Percy's POV

I twirled a piece of Annabeth's hair around my finger, spacing out. Finally, the bell rang and we could leave the classroom. I gathered my books and shoved them 'carefully' into my bags. Annabeth rolled her eyes at my carelessness. I grinned at her and she shoved my shoulder.

"You're so short, you know, right?" I said and she glared at me.

"I'll have you know that I'm over the average height for women, right? I am five eight," I said to him.

"Yeah, I know, but I'm still taller than you," I said and she glared at me.

"Not all of us can be freakishly tall, Seaweed Brain," she drawled out.

I rolled my eyes and kissed her cheek. We had stopped by the door in front of the change rooms to get changed for gym, obviously. She gave me a proper kiss and my brain exploded. My heart thumped in my chest and I gripped her hips and she slid her hands into my hair. She pulled away and smirked at my red face and bemused expression. "I love you," she chuckled.

"Love you too," I whispered back and she kissed me once again on the cheek and pushed open the door to the change room.

I skipped to the men's change room and the stench of sweat, Axe cologne and dirty feet hit in the face. I gagged and 'casually' walked to my locker and pulled out my gym clothes. I quickly changed and tied up my Reebox runners. I was about to walk into the gym when three guys blocked my path.

"Well, well, well," the biggest guy sneered. He had shaggy dirty blonde hair and cold brown eyes. He was shorter than me by about three inches but had a solider build. "If it isn't Percy Jackson."

"If it isn't a guy that I don't know," I said and tried to pass him but the two flanked behind him stopped my path.

"Gosh, Jackson, you sure have changed a lot," the boy drawled.

"Um, do I know you?"

The boy snickered stupidly. "You seriously don't remember me, do you Jackson? Think back; you still hang out with your retard friend?"

I sucked in a breath. I knew who this guy was; Matt Sloan. I smirked at him and crossed my arms across my chest. "Matt Sloan, gods, you haven't changed a bit. You know, Tyson? Yeah, well, he's a successful army general now, no thanks to you, of course. And guess what? I really don't care about you right now, so, could you please move so I can go and see my girlfriend." I made sure to drawl out the word 'girlfriend' just to rub it in his face.

Sloan smirked at me. "That blonde you were just sucking face with? Mm, yeah, she's a nice piece of ass right there."

My jaw clenched and my hands curled into fists. "She's not a piece of meat, Sloan. She's a person and if you know what's good for you, you won't even _look_ at her, you hear?"

Sloan barked out a cruel laugh. "I'll check out who I want. Tell me, Jackson, how many times have you banged her?" he asked me. My vision turned red; I wanted so bad just to sack him right there. I could feel my face burning. Sloan scanned my features and realization flickered in his eyes. "Oh, you haven't then? Honestly, Jackson, you'd think that any straight guy would want to screw her, am I right? I mean, hell, I sure would."

"You leave her the hell alone, Sloan. I'm warning you, one more word about Annabeth and I will murder you," I spat at him.

"Hey!" a voice behind me yelled. I turned around and saw a very pissed off Thalia running towards us. "I heard everything you just said, asshole and, I swear if you even _think_ about touching Annabeth, I will castrate you so fast, you won't be able to say 'sorry'," Thalia growled.

Sloan eyed her up and down, and then burst out laughing. "You're trying to threaten me, aren't you? Aw, that's cute. Hot, even. But we all know that no girl could ever hurt me."

I licked my lips and Thalia tensed beside me. I could feel the electricity in the air. "Gods, you're stupid," she spat out angrily. Then, she did something so completely Thalia, I didn't know why I didn't see it coming; she attacked him. It all went by so fast; she jumped onto him and put him in a choke hold. "Call uncle, you son of a bitch," Thalia growled and tightened her grip on his neck. Sloan was starting to turn purple.

His two cronies could only watch in awe as Thalia, who was only five foot four, by the way, take down a five foot eleven guy. "Un-uncl-" Sloan choked out as his hands scrabbled uselessly against Thalia's arms. Thalia released his neck and backed away beside me. Sloan lay on the ground, gasping desperately for air. "You're fucking insane," he gasped out and rubbed his neck gingerly.

Thalia rolled her eyes and took one last look at him. "Just stay away from my friends," she said and turned on her heel and walked into the gym. I followed her inside and what I saw in there shocked me.

Justin was kissing Mia.

* * *

**Muahahaha! You hate me, don't you? HAHA! I felt like I needed to leave a cliffhanger for once and not end a chapter with Percy and Annabeth kissing or something.**

**Question for my reviewers! Should Aggie and I make a joint account and write PJO and HP fanfics on there? It wouldn't be updated as regularly, though, but you know... What do you think?**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	12. Chapter 12

**So this is a super short chapter, but an imprtant one. And Justin's a douchebag in it, but cut him some slack. ;)**

**Also, I got a review saying that they were against gays. Well, newsflash, I'm bi-sexual, so yeah. Deal with it. And, one other thing; people keep telling me not to put Leo and Nancy together. Okay, c'mon guys! I literally _just_ introduced the fact that she was lesbian! Leo's a guy! Groan...**

**Questions:**

**Q: Would you rather be a witch or a demigod?**

**A: Definitely a witch! I would _so_ go to Hogwarts before Camp Half Blood! Sorry, guys!**

**Send in your questions guys! I wanna answer them!**

**Disclaimer: You guys know the drill...**

* * *

Rowen's POV

All I was expecting for the rest of the morning was a nice gym class with my boyfriend who I would happily beat up with a wooden sword (we had started with sword fighting again this term). But no, I walked out of the change rooms to see Justin _kissing_ Mia. Was this some kind of sick joke? I had waited years, _years_ for that loser to finally ask me out and now I lost him to some slut in a crop top.

I marched over to him and saw Mia smirking at me. She wiped the edges of her mouth and glared into my eyes like, _I win. Good game, biotch._ Ugh, whatever. This game wasn't over yet and there was no way in hell she was going to win.

"Look, Rowen, I swear-" Justin started but I cut him off.

"Save, asshole. Look, I don't care if you decide that Mia is somehow better than me, but at least have the respect to break up with me first. I don't care about your stupid excuses; I don't want them. I have more self-respect than to deal with some stupid, cheating boyfriend. So, have fun with your little whore-friend here, but I want absolutely no part in it," I spat at him. I turned to walk away, but, as an after thought, I slapped him across the face.

He clutched at his cheek and groaned. "Gods, you slap hard," he grunted.

"Well, if that's all you have to say," I choked out and stalked away. Emotions swirled inside of me like some sort of hurricane. Anger, betrayal, confusion and, most of all, a terrible sadness. Justin and I had been friends for years, right? We knew everything about each other, all of our secrets. I had trusted him and he betrayed me. What I didn't understand was why he would kiss her? I thought that he hated her? Maybe Mia set it up; maybe he didn't even want to kiss her? I shook my head. No. It was like some sort of invisible force was persuading me to believe this.

I stalked over to the bench and sat down beside Meg. She took a look at me and wrapped her arms around me. "It'll be okay," she whispered and rubbed my back.

I sighed into her shoulder and pulled away from her hug. "I know. It just... I don't know. I thought I knew him."

She gave me a sad smile. "I know. You wanna ditch?" I looked into her eyes and nodded hesitantly. She grinned at me. "C'mon!" She grabbed my wrist and we raced out of the gym. She laughed and we ran out of the front doors.

"Oh man, I needed this," I laughed as we walked down the sidewalk. She shoved her hands into her jean pockets. Her long black hair swayed behind her down her back. I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"The dreams coming back?" she asked me.

I sighed and nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, they're back."

Meg nodded. "That sucks."

"Yeah..." I trailed off and bit my lip.

"I heard that talking about it can make you feel better," Meg commented. I sighed once again and began rambling...

**_*Flashback*_**

_It was a hot summer day. My long hair whipped around my face in the hot wind. Laura laughed and turned the volume up in the car._

_"You wanna take the top down?" she asked me, her blue eyes sparkling. Her long light brown hair was tied in a bun on top of her head. She was wearing a light sundress over her bikini top and she looked fabulous._

_"Hell yeah!" I shouted._

_She laughed again and the roof to the convertible folded down. I grinned at my older half-sister and tied my hair into a ponytail. She grinned back at me and we started singing along to the music from the radio._

_"Whoa! We're half way there! Whoa-oh! Living on a prayer! Take my hand and we'll make, I swear! Whoa-oh! Living on a prayer!" we sang in our worst voices possible just for the heck of it._

_"Thanks for taking me out to the beach, L," I said. She smiled at me and shoved me with her shoulder._

_"No problem. I've been meaning to get away from the city for a while. There's only so much of tenth grade you can take," she told me and we grinned at each other. "So the other day, I heard a boy told you that you were the 'prettiest girl in the eighth grade'."_

_I blushed. "Whatever."  
_

_"Oooh! So it is true! What's his name?"_

_I rolled my eyes at her enthusiasm. "His name is Justin and he's in the other class."_

_"Mm... So, do you like him?" she asked me._

_My face turned red. "What! No! No, of course not! We're just friends!"_

_"Sure, you are, Row. You'll get together in the future, you'll see-" Her dialogue was cut off by a deafening crash._

_I remember feeling pain and my stomach feeling very wet. I remember seeing a lot of red liquid seeping out of my side onto my hands. I remember screaming so hard my throat was raw, but I couldn't remember the sound. I remember my sister body; her light brown hair lying in wisps across her once beautiful face. Her blue eyes were glassy and unseeing and half of her face was torn away by the pavement._

_And then everything went dark._

_***End of flashback***_

I had woken up hours later in a hospital. My leg was bound in a plaster cast and my stomach was covered in white bandages. I had broken my leg, sprained my wrist and a shard of metal had pierced my side down to my bone. I also had a concussion. The nurse had entered the room with a somber look on her face.

"Where's Laura?" I had asked. My dad, who was sitting right beside me, stiffened and the nurse winced.

"Rowen, I'm so sorry-"

"No! No, no, no, no, no... Laura can't be... She isn't gone! She can't be gone! You're lying! Why are you lying to me? Where is she!" I had cried. The nurse then walked up to me and shot something into my arm. I figured out later that they were drugs to put me to sleep. That was good; all I wanted was to sleep.

The funeral was a small occasion but hundreds of people showed up to the event. Laura had been an upstanding member of the community and she was very loved. After the funeral, I hadn't talked to anyone for two months. I only cried. I didn't eat, didn't sleep. She had been run over by a drunk driver.

"Rowen?" Meg's voice jarred me out of my halucination.

"Sorry," I whispered. "Just got lost in thought."

She smiled sadly at me. "C'mon, let's get back to the school."

I nodded and we walked back into the building.

* * *

**So now you know the story behind Rowen's scar! I hope you liked this chapter, even if it was quite short!**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**~Lou XOXO**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Okay, yeah, I know I haven't updated in... Forever... So, yeah, I'm sorry! I also won't be posting for the next two weeks as I have five hour rehearsals ever day this week and then I'm in California for ten days! I also sprained my pinky finger playing ultimate Frisbee. Yeah... Oops :)**_

_**Questions:**_

_**Q: Do you prefer boys or girls?**_

_**A: Um... That is a rather personal question and I do not feel comfortable responding to that via the internet. I hope you understand, sorry.**_

_**Q: What colour are the walls in your room?**_

_**A: At my dad's, the walls a lime green and at my mom's, the walls are an off white.**_

_**Disclaimer: In my magical dream world, I own PJO. Sadly, this is not my magical world of awesomeness, where I am queen of the world and am super rich and own thirty cats and dogs, therefore, I don't own PJO.**_

* * *

Annabeth's POV

"You're an idiot," I said and stopped in front of Justin.

He sighed. "Annabeth, please move out of the way. I need to talk to Rowen, I need to explain." We were sitting in the school garden. Students from the gardening club were puttering around us, grooming the trees and foliage all around us. The tree branches formed a canopy of leaves over us and a small, worn wooden bench was sitting in the middle of the clearing we were standing in. Small rose bushes formed a circle around the clearing.

"What?" I asked him. "That you were cheating on her?"

He threw his hands up in the air. "Why does everyone think I'm cheating on Rowen? _Mia_ kissed _me._ I would never cheat on her! I love her..." He trailed off.

I placed my hands on my hips. "Look, Justin. Maybe Mia did kiss you, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have pulled away. You had better fix this, and fast. Rowen's dealt with some serious shit in her life, you know and she doesn't deserve to be cheated on."

Justin ran his hands through his hair and sat down on his bench. He sniffled and wiped his nose. He looked at me with puffy red eyes. "I really screwed up, huh?"

I nodded and sat down beside him. "Yeah, you did. You really did."

He placed his head in his hands. "I just miss her... I never wanted to kiss that-that _bitch._ She just attacked me and, I don't know, I just panicked and froze. I just... I don't know..."

"Look at me Justin." He turned to face me. "I believe you. You're a good guy. You have good intentions and I can tell you really love Rowen. But you have to make this right."

"But what do I do?" he asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "That's for you to figure out. My suggestion would be to leave her alone for a bit; give her some time to cool down. But, you have to call her tonight. You know Rowen."

"Yeah, yeah I do," Justin said. "Thanks, Annabeth. I'm like a virgin when it comes to girls."

I grinned at him. "Well, I'm not very good with them either, but one of my best friends is a daughter of Aphrodite."

He pulled me in for a hug. "Thank you."

I squeezed him back. "No problem."

"Hey, 'Beth!" I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned around and I saw Percy running up to me. I saluted him and he came up to me. He gave me a chaste peck on the lips. "Watcha up to?"

"Giving Justin relationship advice."

He scoffed at me. "You? Pu-lease."

I shoved his shoulder. "Jerk," I mumbled and he laughed.

"You know it!" he laughed. I rolled my eyes at him.

Justin got up off the bench and brushed off his pants of non-existent dirt. "Thanks again, Annabeth. I gotta get going to class."

"See ya," I said to him and gave him a sad smile. Percy clapped him on the back and whispered something into his ear. Justin's figure faded away into the distance.

Percy wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I leaned against him. "Guess what?" I asked him.

"What?" He shifted himself so he could look at me properly. His eyebrows scrunched together in curiosity.

"My parents are coming to town in one day."

"Ugh!" he groaned. "Don't remind me! I've only met your dad once and that was when I was about to save your life, when we were thirteen, before we were dating, and I blew up his van."

I smiled at him. "It'll be fine. My dad... Well, as long as you don't start swearing or talking about drugs, or start a fight with some sort of monster, or attack Bobby and Matthew, you'll be fine. Oh, and we should probably lay off the PDA while he's staying at the house."

"Wait," Percy asked, "he's staying in the apartment?"

I nodded. "Sadly, yes. So, we're going to have to deal with my dad, Helen, and the two little devils I call brothers."

Percy sighed and buried his face in my hair. "You know what else this means?"

"What?"

"We can't sleep in the same bed."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "I don't know if I can do that," I whispered.

Percy smiled at me. "You're Annabeth Chase, you can do anything."

"Not without you, I can't," I whispered back.

"Yes, you can," Percy said and kissed the top of my head. "C'mon, it's time for Marin Biology! Ooooh, I'm so excited!"

I laughed. "C'mon, Seaweed Brain, I'll race you to the school!" I took off down the path.

"Oh, it's on!" I heard Percy yell and he followed me to the school.

**Line breaker of epic-ness!**

Percy's POV

I stood in front of my mirror and tried to flatten my messy hair. My heart thumped in my chest and I wiped my hands on my new jeans (that Mom had bought for me). I took a deep breath in and tried to calm down. Let's just say that it wasn't working too well.

"Percy, it's going to be fine," Annabeth told me. "My dad is going to love you. And not just because you have saved my life, like, a million times, though I've saved yours a million and one times, so you still owe me one, but because you're an awesome person."

"But what if your dad hates me?" I whispered.

She smiled at me. "Then I'll still date you. I mean, how many times has he let me down and how many times have you let me down?" she asked me. She straightened my tie and kissed my nose. We were dressed formally for the dinner. I was wearing a blue dress shirt and dark wash jeans. Unfortunately, my mom had forced me into a tie, though after much arguing. Annabeth was wearing a white, short sleeved blouse, dark wash skinny jeans and her owl earrings. Her hair was out and falling down her back in ringlets. In other words, she looked stunning.

She gave me a quick hug and looked me in the eye. "Calm down and breathe. We didn't survive Tartarus to be defeated by my parents, 'kay?" I nodded and she smiled at me.

The buzzer rang from the front hall. "Kids! Get out here!" my mom called from the kitchen.

We walked out into the kitchen and saw four people standing in the foyer. There was a shorter, middle aged man with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes I recognized as Annabeth's father. There was a short, skinny Asian woman with long brown hair tied into a bun wearing a red house dress, who I recognized to be Helen, Annabeth's stepmom. And then there were two boys, about eleven, with short brown hair, olive skin and identical, mischievous grins. They eyed the place like they were deciding what to destroy first.

My mom smoothed her blue party dress and shook Helen's hand. "Hello, I'm Sally. It's nice to finally meet you."

Helen smiled back. "You too. Annabeth's told us a lot about you. You must be Paul?"

Paul smiled and shook her hand as well. "Yes, and you must be Helen." She nodded. Mr. Chase stepped forward and shook both my mom's and Paul's hands.

"I'm Frederick, Annabeth's dad," he said and smiled.

My mom smiled back , though warily; she had heard all the stories from Annabeth before. "It's nice to meet you. Annabeth's talked about you as well."

Mr. Chase smiled at her. "Percy?" Paul asked me and I looked at him. "Why don't you show them their rooms?"

"Sure," I said and shoved my hands into my pockets. "Follow me, if you would. Oh, d'you need help with your luggage?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful," Helen said and I took some of her many bags. Seriously, it was just for the weekend; did she really need three suitcases?

We walked down the hall in silence. I could hear plates clanking and the sound of cutlery being unloaded from the drawer. Annabeth was obviously helping my parents set the table.

"Okay, so Mr. and Mrs. Chase, you'll be sleeping in Annabeth's room. Bobby and Matthew, is it okay if you sleep in the living room?" I asked the two boys. They nodded.

"Where is Annabeth going to be sleeping?" Frederick asked me curiously.

I flushed. "Um, my room..."

Frederick eyed me cautiously. "Is she now?"

Helen sighed exasperatedly. "Really, dear! She is seventeen, not seven!"

"Well, I didn't really get to know my daughter at seven, now did I?" he snapped.

I cleared my throat. "Um, sorry, but my mom's calling us for dinner. You can just, um, put your bags on the bed for now and we can get organized after dinner."

Frederick eyed me once again and set his bags on the bed. "Very well," he said and sauntered down the hall to the dining room.

When we got to the table, burgers, condiments, tomatoes, cheese, pickles and all sorts of other things were laid out for us to dig into. Annabeth was sitting at the far side and I went to sit beside her. I sat down and gripped her hand in mine. I bent down close to her ear and whispered, "Your dad scares me."

She hid a giggle as a cough and took a sip of water. I rubbed her back as she choked and spluttered. Helen eyed us suspiciously and I blushed at her gaze. My mom sat down and smiled at all of us. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Dig in!"

"Food!" Bobby and Matthew shouted and grabbed buns and patties and started loading them with extra food.

Frederick and Helen began smearing ketchup, mustard and mayo onto their buns and burgers. I grabbed a bun and Annabeth and I both reached for the same patty.

"Um, Perce, I believe that that's my burger," she said.

I sighed and turned to her. "Um, no, Wise Girl, that's mine."

"Oh, really?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Yup," I said.

"Well, then, I guess we're going to have to duel for it, Seaweed Brain," she smirked.

"I guess we will, Owl Face," I said and mimicked her facial expression. The others eyed us with curiosity.

"One... Two... Three... Rock, paper, scissors!" she exclaimed and, predictably, she won. "Ha ha! It's mine!"

I sighed. "You always win," I grumbled.

"You got that right," she laughed. I glanced at my mom and she was smiling and shaking her head knowingly. Mr Chase was looking at me in amazement. Helen just looked awkward. Bobby and Matthew were faking gags behind their parents' backs. I blushed and Annabeth did the same. We quickly turned back to our meals. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Paul laughing silently at our blushing faces.

"So," Helen said, "how did you guys meet? Annabeth wouldn't give us specifics."

Annabeth and I glanced at each other before bursting out laughing. "It's a long story," Annabeth said.

"She hated me," I said.

"Um, no I didn't. I just thought you were annoying."

"Let's just say that we stole back a lightning bolt after I defeated the Minotaur," I said and Frederick started coughing on his food.

"What?" he croaked.

"Well, don't you know what your daughter has done?" my mom asked.

Frederick pursed his lips. "Well, no, not really. She always said she couldn't talk about it."

Annabeth looked down at her food. I squeezed he hand reassuringly. "Yeah, well, I don't really like to talk about all the times where I've almost died a painful death, been tortured, been injured, or watched re-runs of my most painful memories," Annabeth muttered.

I brushed her hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. "As long as we're together," I whispered. These words had become sort of a code for us; they meant that we would never be separated ever again.

"Together," she whispered back and gave me a small smile.

"What's-what's going on?" Helen asked my mom. She sounded concerned.

My mom sighed sadly. "They... Percy fell into Tartarus for Annabeth during the summer. They were tortured for two weeks until they finally got out of there."

"Oh my God," Helen whispered. I felt Annabeth stiffen. She obviously didn't want to relive these memories at the moment. And, for the record, neither did I.

"I need to get some air," Annabeth gasped and got up from the table.

"Annabeth, wait!" I called and followed her out to the fire escape.

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_**Thanks for reading! I guess I'll see you in two weeks! Wish me luck in recital this weekend and in Cali!**_

_**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**_

_**~Lou XOXO**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Hi? I know, I know! I'm SO sorry! That was A LOT longer than two weeks! But, in my defence, the vacation went a lot longer than I expected and then I had all the catch up work to do for school and then I had grade eight farewell stuff to do and it was just hectic as hell. So, I'm sorry, but I do have a valid excuse for my absence.**_

_**And another thing, I haven't a CLUE where you guys are getting your information about bi sexuals, but the last time I checked, being bi means that you like both boys and girls. So, yes, I do have lady parts, just to clear that up. I haven't a clue where you guys got this information, but it's wrong. Just, wrong. Not that people like that are wrong, but your terminology is wrong. 'Kay? Cool. At least, it is in Canadian terms. Maybe it's different in the U.S.? I wouldn't know!**_

_**Disclaimer: I went to California for ten days to see if I could find Rick Riordan and convince him to give me the rights to PJo. Turns out, he lives in Texas. (I did know that he lives in Texas, BTW. I'm not stupid.)**_

* * *

Annabeth was sitting on the fire escape, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. She was staring wistfully at the bright night-time New York City lights. I sat down beside her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She laid her head against my shoulder and exhaled softly.

"Why didn't you tell them about your adventures? I thought you said things were getting better?" I asked. She sighed sadly and I felt her stiffen under my arm.

"They are, but I still feel like I'm not wanted at their house. Hellen and my dad only talk to me if they have to and Bobby and Matthew try their hardest to make my life miserable. And Hellen is constantly going on about how every monster that attacks us is my fault. It's not my problem that they live in San Fransisco! And then there's the fact that whenever I talked about the war, Hellen would go on this big rant about how kids shouldn't be fighting, and how I wasn't ready for this, and blah blah blah, and my dad just looked at me disapprovingly, like it was my fault that this happened, that I made Luke turn into the evil Titan Lord. And _now_, they all look at me pityingly because of what's happened to me but what I want to know is where the hell were they when I asked for their help!" she exclaimed.

I rubbed her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "I know, I know it sucks."

"Is that all you can say?" she asked me. Her face was sad. Her grey eyes were dull and lifeless, like all the energy had been sucked out of her.

I shrugged. "It's the best I got right now." She laughed dryly and kissed me softly.

Someone behind us cleared their throat. Mr. Chase, Hellen, my mom and Paul were all standing in the doorway. Mr. Chase looked shocked and hurt. Hellen looked just as shocked, but sad. My mom looked understanding and like she wanted to adopt Annabeth into our family. Paul just looked uncomfortable. "Um, Annabeth, can I talk to you in private?" Mr. Chase asked.

"Um, can we do this later... Like, after dinner?" Annabeth asked, looking hopeful.

"No, I don't think this can wait," he sighed.

Annabeth set her jaw and I knew there was going to be trouble. "Fine, but Percy's going to be there too."

"I beg your pardon?" Mr. Chase said. His eyebrows shot so far up his forehead, they hit his hairline.

"I said that if I'm going, Percy's going too," Annabeth stated. "I will not go otherwise."

"Don't talk to your father that wa-!" Hellen started but Annabeth cut her off.

"No, Hellen! You're not my mom! Quit acting like you are! I'm seventeen, almost eighteen. I've fought in two wars. I've almost died countless times. I've defeated a Titan and Gaea! And when I asked for your help, for your support, for you to be _parents_ for once, and you left me on my own, just like you did when I was seven. And now, for some reason, you've taken a sudden interest in me!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Okay! Okay! This is getting out of hand! Everybody just needs to calm down and breathe!" my mom cried. She took a deep breath and said, "Look, Percy and Annabeth, go to Percy's room. Mr. and Mrs. Chase, it would be wise for you to go to your room. Bobby and Matthew can stay in the living room. We can all continue this conversation when we calm down."

"No! She's my daughter-" Mr. Chase started.

"I think," Paul interjected, "that that is a good decision. Why don't we all just take our time to calm down, shall we?"

I nodded, agreeing with my mom and Paul. And I thought immortal families had issues! "C'mon, 'Beth," I said and helped Annabeth from the ground. We walked into my room and slammed the door shut. Annabeth paced the room, muttering to herself.

"Annabeth, come here," I said. She ignored me and continued pacing the room. "Wise Girl, calm down, and sit."

She sighed and turned to face me, hands on her hips. "No, I can't sit down. He's just so infuriating! He thinks that he can control every little thing that I do with my life! The only reason he let me come down here was because Athena threatened him, and even then he was still pissed about it! He was like this thirteen years ago and he's still like it today! I should have known this visit was going to be like this. I should have known..." She sat down beside me and I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

"I know... I know he's difficult. I know it sucks. But I also know that you're Annabeth Chase and that you can do anything. And that I'll love you 'till the day I die and even after. And you should know that, too, because nothing will ever change that. Ever," I said and kissed her slowly. She responded and my hand slid down her shoulder to her waist. Her hands tangled themselves in my hair and she tugged on it lightly. I smiled against her mouth and we pulled away. Our breathing was heavy, but she was smiling slightly. We were looking rather disheveled from the kissing. Annabeth's top had slid off one shoulder and her hair was sticking up.

She ran her hand through my hair, making it only slightly neater than before. I pressed my lips against hers quickly one more time.

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" she asked me.

I leaned my forehead against hers. "You may have mentioned it once or twice."

She smirked and hid her head in the crook of my neck. We heard a knock on the door. My mom was standing in the doorway, looking more than flustered. She smiled at us sadly. "Your dad's in his room, Annabeth. He's, um, he's waiting for you. And he says that Percy can come with you if you still want him there."

Annabeth nodded. She met eyes with me and we had a silent conversation.

_You'll come with me right?_

_Absolutely. Promise you'll stop your dad from killing me if I the wrong thing._

_I'm not making any promises, Seaweed Brain._

Annabeth led the way out of the room. I followed her and we knocked on the door to the guest room.

* * *

_**Mwahahaha! I love leaving cliff hangers! I **_**almost_ gave you guys mercy for my long absence, but then I didn't. ;)_**

**_Anywho, please feel free to review... Yeah..._**

**_Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!_**

**_-Lou_**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello people! Reason for my absence: I was away on a camping trip for my grade eight class, so I didn't have time to update. However, school is finally out, so that means I will have lots of time to update! Yay!**

**But not this week. You see, my lovelies, I am going to summer camp for a week on Sunday, so I don't know if I'll have time to update this lovely story, or any of my other stories, during these coming days.**

**Questions:**

**Q: You say that you think best friends relationships are super cute. Isn't Jonah your friend?**

**A: Sigh… I don't like Jonah like that. Yes, best friend relationships make me squeal on the inside, but I don't like Jonah like that. Nor does he like me (insert disgusted shudder here). One of my other friends likes him though, so ship Jolin! They are **_**adorable!**_** And, for the record, I like someone else, that isn't Jonah.**

**Q: Apples or oranges?**

**A: A is for apples! Probably because they taste so much better here, because we don't have to import them as far as oranges.**

**Q:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the insanely awesome rights to PJO.**

My dad opened the door to the bedroom. Helen was sitting on the bed, her hands clenched tightly into fists on her lap. Percy and I stood there in the door awkwardly. My dad motioned for us to sit down, so we did, on the little loveseat that had replaced the armchair a couple of months ago.

We sat there in an incredibly awkward silence. The only sound filling the room was breathing and my heart in my throat. I was sure that everyone in the room could hear it. I licked my lips nervously and wrung my hands together on my lap.

My dad sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "What are we going to do?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"Annabeth, honey," he said and looked me in the eye. I turned away from him. "Please, work with me."

I pursed my lips. "How do you expect me to do that? When I ran away, you didn't even call the police to come and find me. I looked at the newspaper every morning, waiting for some sort of missing child report to turn up. I looked in store windows, on the T.V., in magazines, everywhere! That was when I decided that I would come home, because that meant there would be a worried mother and a father waiting in the doorway with open arms. But that never happened to me." I buried my face in my hands.

My dad bit his bottom lip. Helen buried her face in her hands. They looked like two toddlers caught doing something naughty.

"I'm so, so sorry," Helen muttered. "What happened to you? What happened during the war?"

I narrowed my eyes. A surge of rage and disgust filled me. "You've never seemed to show interest in this before."

Helen and my dad winced. "Okay," my dad said, "we deserved that one."

I exhaled softly and looked at Percy. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern. He brushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "What do you want to know?" I asked.

They looked surprised. "What happened after," my dad cleared his throat and continued, "after you ran away?"

"I was on my own for a bit. I was seven, I was scared and I only had a hammer for a weapon. Athena guided me to two people she knew would take me in. You've met one of them, Thalia, a couple years ago," I began but my dad interrupted me.

"Who was the last one?" he asked.

I swallowed. "That was Luke."

"Where is he now?" he asked me.

Percy squeezed my shoulder. "He's dead," I said bluntly.

"Oh," said my dad. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It happened a while ago. He wasn't the same person when he died, anyway," I said.

Percy put his lips to my ear, "Doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt, Wise Girl. You don't always have to be so brave."

"Yes," I said, "I do."

"Continue, Annabeth," Helen said.

I nodded. "Thalia was attacked at the top of Half-Blood Hill when we finally made it there and her dad, Zeus, turned her into a pine tree, but I've told you all of this.

So, then Percy came to camp when I was twelve and we found out that someone stole Zeus' bolt and then Percy and I had to go on a quest to find it."

"Well, technically you didn't have to. You volunteered," Percy said, a smile forming on his lips.

I rolled my eyes at him. "If I hadn't gone, you would have died. So, yeah, I did have to go."

"Whatever," Percy muttered childishly and attempted to cross his arms across his chest, but his one arm was still around his shoulders.

I chuckled and looked up at his blushing face. "Oh whatever! I was trying to cross my arms but you were lying on my- Stop laughing!"

I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to stifle the laughter.

"Annabeth?" my dad asked me.

"Right, sorry. Anyway, we found the bolt and it turned out that Luke had stolen it. Then, the next summer, Thalia's tree was poisoned. Once again, it was Luke's doing. So, Percy and I had to sneak out of Camp to go find the Golden Fleece, but we didn't account for the fact that it would heal Thalia completely. Then, during winter of the next year, we went on a mission to save two new demigods. I was kidnapped by Luke, and so was Artemis. This was when Percy asked to borrow your van. Anyway, Percy saved both Artemis and I-"

"But not without Thalia, Zoe, Bianca and Grover's help. Gods, Annabeth, you make me sound like a friggin' super hero," Percy said, his face blushing like crazy.

"Whatever, Perce. Anyway, so that was winter break… Oh, and then there was the Labyrinth. Percy, Tyson, Percy's half brother, Grover and I navigated the Labyrinth to save the Camp from Luke. In the Labyrinth, we found Pan, the lost god of the wild, and found out that Kronos had risen and was using Luke's body as a host." My stepmother covered her mouth with her hands. "Yeah, I know. At least you didn't have to see it happen in real life."

"You forgot something," Percy said.

"What did I forget?" I asked him.

He smirked. "You forgot that we found Daedalus."

"Right! We found Daedalus, which turned out to be a total waste of time, because he didn't do anything to help us and helped Luke and his army. So, Kronos attacked Camp and we managed to fend them off, but quite a few campers died during the attack. Then came the next summer, the war. We, around forty demigods, had to defend the Empire State Building, which happens to be Olympus, from Kronos' attack. Long story, short, we defeated Kronos, I was awarded Head Architect of Olympus and Percy was granted one wish from the gods."

My dad scratched his brow. "So, what did you wish for?"

Percy shrugged. "I wished that the gods wouldn't forget about their children anymore."

He nodded slowly and motioned me to continue. "So, all was happy and sunshine and rainbows for a while; Percy and I _finally_ got together. So did Katie and Travis-"

"Now, _that_ was hilarious," Percy said with a laugh.

"I know, right? Did you see her face when she stomped out of her cabin?"

"I think Travis' face was funnier. He was terrified. I mean, he fights the evil Titan Lord of Time, but he can't even face a daughter of Demeter!"

I chuckled. "Anyway, that's beside the point. So, winter break of this year, Percy was taken away by Hera for some swicheroo between the Roman demigod camp, Camp Jupiter, which happens to be in San Francisco. He was missing for six months.

We found him again, but not after finding out that Gaea was waking. So, we had to fly to Rome on a battle ship, which our friend Leo made, and find the Athena Parthenos. I did, but Arachne, the goddess of spiders, was guarding it. I tricked her and she fell into Tartarus. But, some of the string caught on my leg and I almost fell into Tartarus. Percy saw me fall, and caught me, but he wasn't strong enough to pull me out of the hole. So, instead of letting go, he fell with me."

Percy stiffened beside me. "If only I had been a little stronger," he muttered to himself.

"No, Percy. Not this again. This was not your fault. This was Gaea's fault, Arachne's fault, but not yours. Stop blaming yourself. We spent two weeks? I can't remember, it was between a week and two weeks in Tartarus. Then, when we got out, we went straight to Greece and put Gaea back in her slumber. So, yeah, that's it," I said.

My dad nodded. He got up and hugged me tightly. I couldn't move at first, but I slowly wrapped my arms around him and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry. I love you, sweetie," he said as he pulled away.

I nodded. "I know. I love you, too, dad."

Helen stood up and looked like she was going to pull me in for a hug, but pulled back instead. "I'm sorry about when you were little. I was a jerk to you. Maybe we could start fresh? I've always wanted a daughter."

I smiled. "That would be awesome."

Suddenly, the doors to the bedroom opened up. Bobby and Matthew were standing in the doorway. "You've done all that?"

"And more," Percy said. I rolled my eyes at him.

Their jaws dropped. "You're awesome!" They ran towards me and hugged me around the waist. "Can you tell us more awesome demigod stories?"

"I think Percy has more than I do, considering the fact that he's an idiot and always gets himself stuck in dangerous situations."

"I am not an idiot!" Percy defended.

I smirked at him. "You were the one who asked me if I had a belly button or not."

He groaned. "That was one time! _One time!"_

"So," Bobby said, "do you have a belly button?"

Cue facepalm.

**Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. I quite liked writing this chapter, actually.**

**So, what do you guys have planned for the summer?**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**-Lou**

**P.S.: As much as I LOVE your guys' reviews, please don't leave any reviews like, "If you don't repost this, you'll die alone!" sort of thing. The point of the review box is to give me advice on how to make my story better.**

**P.P.S.: Another thing! I love it when you guys take ideas from my story and incorporate it into your own. It makes me feel very special, y'know? But, please give me credit for the idea, as I put a lot of time and effort into writing these chapters for you guys. It takes me, on average, about three hours to write a decent chapter, because I write and rewrite the whole chapter about three times before I am happy with the result. Also, if you do use the ideas, make sure that you **_**only**_** use ideas and not the **_**whole**_** plot, as that is called plagiarism. I will find out eventually and I will report it.**

**Sorry for that whole thing up there! It just had to be said.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Heyo! I'm back from Camp! It was awesome, thanks for asking. Seriously though, you could feel the Holy Spirit there. People were collapsing, crying uncontrollably, laughing uncontrollably and there were a select few who were speaking in different languages (myself being one of them). And that was only the last night.**

**Either way it was awesome.**

**So… Does anyone else watch The Walking Dead. I recently started watching it and it's awesome! If you're into zombies and post-apocolyptic stuff, definitely check it out.**

**Questions:**

**Q: ****Have you ever been to any other country besides Canada?**

**A: Yep, I've been to the States, twice and Cuba once. Go to Cuba ! Seriously, it's awesome!**

**Q:** **Will you go into more detail of Percy's and Annabeth's torture in Tartarus? Also, will there be more in-depth of Percy's abuse?**

**A: Hopefully, yes. Honestly, I will if I can fit it into the story. But, hopefully I'll make him have more scary dreams about Gabe and Tartarus. Oh! I just feel so evil right now!**

**Q: You should have Percy give Annabeth a promise ring!**

**A: I'm sorry, but I don't think I really want to have him give her that. It's just so… Cliché. I know, I know, I'm a cheesy person and whatnot, but promise rings make me cringe a little. Is that bad? I feel like it is. And, I just feel that Percy and Annabeth don't need something material to signify the fact that they will always be together; it's sort of a given.**

**Q: do you like fishing?**

**A: Yes. Yes, I do, though it has been a while.**

**Whew! Lots of questions this time! Keep 'em coming, boys, keep 'em coming!**

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

* * *

Annabeth's POV

"Do you guys want to come and finish dinner now?" Sally asked as she poked her head through a crack in the door.

I nodded and she smiled. "C'mon Perce," I said and heaved him off of the couch. My dad gave me one last hug before exiting the room, Helen following close behind him.

Bobby and Matthew ran out of the room singing, "Annabeth and Percy, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!"

Percy threw a casual arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek. I laughed and we walked to the table, which was still set from earlier that night. We sat down beside each other, our hands tangled together under the table.

Percy's POV

Annabeth started assembling her burger (with the patty she had stolen from me, by the way) and I took a huge from mine. Annabeth wrinkled her nose in disgust at my eating habits and I stuck my tongue out at her.

"So, Bobby, Matthew… What school do you go to?" Paul asked. Leave it to the teacher to ask a school-related question.

"Saint John's," Matthew answered and took a bite of his hamburger.

"Yeah, it sucks," Bobby said and Matthew nodded in agreement. Bobby took a long swig of his Coke and burped happily.

"Bobby," Helen scolded. "Those are not your proper table manners."

Bobby rolled his eyes and said, "Sorry, mom."

Helen nodded her head, satisfied.

"Okay, so, is it a Catholic school?" Paul asked.

"Absolutely," Helen said. "When Frederick and I were looking for schools to send the boys to, we decided that we would only choose from Catholic schools because they had the best school environment. In fact, I wanted to send Annabeth to a Catholic school, but Frederick was adamant on the Public system."

"Well, of course he was," Annabeth said. "I'm not Catholic. I mean, I've met the Greek gods. They're God doesn't exist."

Helen shrugged. "I know, it's still a better environment for learning. Statistics show that less bullying happen in the Catholic system."

"Well, that also depends on which school you go to. There's little to no bullying at Goode," Paul said.

Annabeth's POV

Percy and I choked on our food and begin spluttering and coughing all over the place. "Well, there can't be that much, right Percy?"

"Um, well, you see, there's this one guy, Matt Sloan-"

I cut him off. "Wait, isn't that the guy I punched in the nose for you in the seventh grade?" I asked and he nodded. "Ugh, I hate that kid."

"Yeah, well, he made a couple comments to me in the hallway one day…" Percy said.

Sally pursed her lips and Paul looked shocked. "What did he say about you?" Sally said sharply, like she was ready to give this Sloan guy a firm talking-to. Oh, Sally… I wished she was my mom.

"Er," Percy said and scratched the back of his neck, like he did when he was uncomfortable, "he didn't say anything about me, really."

"Who did he say something about then, Seaweed Brain?" I asked him.

"He made multiple inappropriate comments about you, 'Beth," he said finally and clenched his fork in his fist.

My dad pursed his lips angrily. "Percy, what did he say?" my dad asked him.

"He said that she was a nice piece of ass and asked me if I had, quote, unquote, 'banged her' yet. And then he said that he would if he ever got the chance," Percy seethed. His knuckles were turning white. I placed my hand on top of his and rubbed my thumb over his knuckles, in an attempt to calm him down.

Helen put her hand over her mouth. The twins placed their hands over their ears and began singing 'La la la la la la…!'. Sally looked livid, which was odd because she was rarely mad; upset, maybe, but rarely mad. Paul was breathing funny and his face looked like a tomato with a face had been stepped on (what?). My dad looked like he was about ready to punch someone, which was weird because he wasn't really a violent person, really; he preferred to talk things out.

And me? Well, I merely wanted to find Sloan and make it so that he could never make babies ever again.

"Please tell me you beat up this kid?" my dad asked Percy.

Percy burst out laughing and everyone stared at him, thoroughly confused. "No, I didn't, but Thalia sure did."

I covered my mouth with my hand and started to laugh as well. "Oh gods, what did she do this time?" Sally asked fondly. I could tell that her affection for Thalia had grown by a tenfold.

"Got him in a choke hold from behind and made him call out 'Uncle!' before she would let him go. He was turning purple until he finally said it." Percy said with a laugh.

"That's so awesome!" the twins yelled at the same time. "Who's Thalia?"

"My cousin," Percy said with a laugh. "A daughter of Zeus and Lieutenant of Artemis. You do not want to cross her, let me tell you."

"Have you ever crossed her?" Matthew asked innocently. I choked on my drink.

"You could say that," Percy said with a smile. "There was this one time in Capture the Flag when we had a huge fight over who screwed up the game. Basically, I got hit with lightning and she was doused with a river of water."

"When did this happen?" I asked, because I hadn't remembered seeing something like that happen. And I think I would have if I did see it happen; who could forget that?

Percy replied, "Oh, this was when you'd been captured by Atlas. Mr. D made us go with the original schedule rather than send out a search team to look for you. I was so close to just sneaking out of camp and looking for you, but no one wanted to cross Mr. D and come with me."

"Who's Mr. D?" Bobby asked.

"The camp director," I said.

"What does the D stand for?" he asked again. What was with all the questions?

"It stands for Dionysus. Yes, our camp director is the god of wine, but, trust me, he does not want to be there, nor do we really want him there," I said.

"Annabeth," Percy warned me as thunder boomed outside.

I huffed. "Oh, what are they gonna do about it? We've saved the world enough times. We've survived Tartarus! I think we've saved their stubborn, godly hides enough that we can back-talk them without having thunder booming every five minutes."

"Very true," Percy said through a mouthful of salad (don't be amazed at the fact that he was eating vegetables; it was pasta salad).

Helen was just about to say (more likely ask) something when we got a knock at the door.

Percy and I got up to see who it was. The sight outside of the door made me gasp in surprise.

Connor and Travis, both of their clothes tattered and covered in blood and monster dust, were standing outside the door. Connor had tears streaming down his face as he looked into the face of an unconscious Meg. Her black hair was matted with blood and a fresh cut on her forehead was bleeding profusely.

"Two hydras and a Lastrygonian, a bl-lock away from here. We m-managed to f-fend them off but th-they got Meg," Travis gasped. "She needs help. Fast."

* * *

**Dun dun dun!**

**Thanks for reading! Maybe take some time writing an itty-bitty review? Even 'good' makes my day, guys!**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**-Lou**

**P.S.: 817 REVIEWS?! W.T.F.?!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey! I'm ba-ck! After only three days this time, not half bad if you ask me.**

**So, I just need to address something real quick… I got a review and I would like to respond to it…**

**So, here's the review, word for word:**_**You used to be my favorite account, this being my favorite story, back when you updated all the time. Now, you never post, and always have an exuse. We don't want excuses, we want the story.**_

**So, yeah… I just wanted to give the reason for my so-called absence. I was at camp for a week, and they have no Wifi out there, nor do they allow electronics, so I was physically unable to post. Then, the reason for my 'absence' these past couple of days is that I was spending time with my aunt from Calgary, Alberta (about six hours away from where I live) who had recently had a fucking heart attack and almost died and with my 87-year-old grandfather who has about a year maximum to live! And I love my family to death and, yeah, I think my family who I will have around for a year max is a **_**little**_** more important than some stupid fanfiction!**

**I have a life, you know. I have things that are important to me, and I know I put on this who 'I don't care' mask, but I'm still a human and I still have feelings and I am scared to death that my aunt will have anther heart-attack and die or that my grandpa will die sometime next week, because he could. The doctors don't know when he'll die. I won't get into it, because it's all very complicated and medical-y. But he's a very important person in my life and I love him to death and I really don't want him to die.**

**So, if I stop posting for a while, it's because my Papa has just passed away and I'm grieving the loss of a very important person in my life.**

**So, do you see why I'm a little pissed off at this Guest? Good, because I think I have a reason.**

**So, don't pretend that you know every goddamn thing I go through, because you don't even know my real name!**

**Sorry about that rant, it just had to get out of my system. On with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own.**

* * *

"Oh my gods," my mom muttered. "Come in, and lay her on the couch. Percy, Annabeth, help them, now."

We rushed to the pair and supported Meg's back and neck as Connor and Travis carried her by the legs and under her armpits to the couch. "She needs to be washed off. Percy, you can do that," Annabeth instructed, her Athena nature taking over. "Travis, you know where the first aid supplies is, right?" Travis nodded in assent. "Go grab some thread and a needle, we need to stitch up this cut. And grab some rubbing alcohol and some gauze, and a lighter." Travis nodded and bolted down the hallway. "Connor, stop crying for the love of Zeus! Just, go sit down and calm the Hades down."

She was silent for a while as she pulled Meg's hair away from her face as gently as she could because it was sticking to the partially congealed blood. "Percy! What are you doing?" she shouted all of a sudden. "Get her cleaned up!"

"Hades!" I cursed and ran into the kitchen and grabbed a cloth from the cabinet and ran it under some warm water. The water invigorated me and my senses were less foggy and cloudy. I ran back into the living room and began quickly cleaning the wound on her forehead.

"Dad, Helen, Bobby, Matthew, you guys either need to move or get out of the room. This is life or death right now," Annabeth said sharply, without looking away from Meg.

Mr. Chase nodded and pulled his wife and kids out of the way as Travis ran back into the room. He set the supplies on the coffee table and Annabeth began cleaning the cut with the rubbing alcohol. Meg stirred a little from the pain and Connor grabbed her hand and gripped it tightly in his own.

He rubbed his fingers over top of her knuckles. He bit his bottom lip in worry and I couldn't help but feel a surge of pity towards him. He really liked her, like a lot.

"C'mon, M," he murmured and, it looked like pure impulse, kissed her hand. "C'mon…"

Annabeth covered the needle with rubbing alcohol and burned it with the lighter. She said, without looking up, "If you're squeamish, look away."

Helen, Bobby and Matthew covered their eyes, peaking through their fingers. Annabeth began stitching it up, quickly and softly. Meg stirred a little again and mumbled something under her breath. Annabeth cut the excess thread with scissors and covered the newly stitched wound with a piece of gauze, sealing the edges with medical tape.

Connor's POV

I got up and winced. I looked down at my side and saw a patch of bright red of my white (well, it wasn't really white anymore; more like dirt, monster gut and blood tye-dye) t-shirt. "Shit," I cursed under my breath and pressed both my hands to my side. I hissed in pain and stumbled a bit. I looked over at Percy and asked, "Do you happen to have any ambrosia and nectar handy?"

Percy's eyes widened when he saw the cut and nodded. He ran out of the room and came back a few minutes later with a canteen and a lemon square.

Travis diverted his attention from Annabeth's conversation with what looked like her father. "Whoa, bro!" he cried and immediately came to my side. He placed my arm around his shoulder and supported my weight on him.

Percy handed me the ambrosia and I stuffed it into my mouth. The warm taste of Starbucks oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie melted in my mouth. I felt my side heat up and the scrape closing up slowly. I took a large swig of nectar and the taste of a café mocha warmed my taste buds.

It reminded me immediately of the one time my mom, Travis and I had gone to Starbucks together. That was seven years ago, before mom had had enough of us and sent us away to Camp Half-Blood. Her exact parting words were, "Don't come back."

Yep, I just love my mother.

"M'fine, Travis. You can let me go now," I mumbled and shrugged off my older **(?)** brother's protective arm.

Meg began to stir and the room went silent. "Con-nor?" she asked.

"Hey," I said and pushed her back down as she tried to sit up. "How are you?"

Meg touched her forehead lightly and winced as she felt the stitches. "Crap," she said finally.

I laughed a humorless laugh. "Yeah, do you remember anything?"

"I remember seeing you and then something attacking. It's blank after that," she said. I noticed our proximity for the first time. Our noses were almost touching and her breath smelled sweet, like chocolate and caramel.

"We were attacked. And I told you to get behind me. You didn't and you were hit and you flew backwards and crashed into a wall. You cut your forehead real bad and Annabeth thinks you've got a few cracked ribs and a sprained wrist. Other than that, you're fine .At least, you should be in a while," I said. I pressed my forehead lightly against hers, careful to avoid her stitches. "Gods, you scared the Hades out of me."

She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, I should have listened to you."

We leaned in and were about to kiss when someone cleared their throat. Oh, come freaking on!

"Hate to interrupt your little couple moment there, but if you're staying you may as well take a shower and then you can help with the dishes," Mrs. Jackson said with a smile.

Meg and I blushed. "Um, yeah, sorry," I muttered.

I was about to leave when Meg caught my hand and kissed my cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

I took a quick shower, nicking a few things from the bathroom as I went, as per usual.

I heard a knock on the door. "Yeah?" I asked.

"Hey, man," Percy said through the door. "Um, I'm just leaving some clothes on the other side of the door for you. They might not fit, though. You're kind of, you know, short."

"I'm not short!" I huffed indignantly.

"You five foot nine, bro. You're only an inch taller than Annabeth," he chuckled.

"Whatever," I grumbled and snatched the clothes from behind the door. He was right; they were much too big.

He had given me a pair of basketball shorts and a plain red t-shirt. The little shit! He knew that blue was my colour! This-this was Travis' colour!

I stepped out of the bathroom and walked into the kitchen and grabbed a towel from the bottom drawer by the sink (we come here a lot to escape the police; we aren't stalkers).

I dried the dishes and eavesdro- cough, cough, _listened_ to Percy and Annabeth's conversation.

"I know, Seaweed Brian, I was just saying…" Annabeth said and opened the cupboard above her head to put a plate away. It was like they had completely forgotten about me in the room. Not to mention everyone else in the dining room, just one room over, clearing the table.

Percy scrubbed furiously at something on a frying pan. "Yeah, well, we can't change anything now."

Annabeth bit her lip and placed another plate in the cupboard. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it." What had she mentioned that made him so upset?

Percy sighed and dropped the frying pan in the sink. "I forgive, I overreacted." He bit his bottom lip and grabbed Annabeth's hands in his own. "I, just… I'm scared."

Annabeth looked into his eyes. "About what?"

Percy looked into her eyes. I had never seen him look like that since he was twelve; scared and beaten-down. "I'm scared that, one morning I'm gonna wake up and find out that we're still down there, fighting for our lives. And, this time, we won't get out. Every damn night…"

Tartarus, she mentioned Tartarus, then.

Annabeth kissed him lightly. "I know," she said simply. "But when you wake up, know that you'll see me beside you and that if you start having nightmares again, just wake me up, okay?"

"Okay," he whispered softly.

"Okay," she said again and kissed him again. "I love you, you know?"

"I love you too," he said and pulled her in for a hug.

Percy pulled away first and noticed me drying a cup. He turned red and cleared his throat. Annabeth glanced over at me and turned just as red as Percy.

"Um, Connor?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah?" I said, trying to seem nonchalant.

"Er…" Annabeth said hesitantly. "Could you please not tell anyone about that… conversation you just heard?"

I placed the cup in the cupboard. "I wasn't going to. Honestly, I like pranks but I would never do that. That's just… Cruel."

Annabeth and Percy sighed in relief. "Thank you," Percy said and I nodded.

"No problem, man," I said and we continued our work in an awkward silence.

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**Thanks for reading! Hopefully you can forgive me about that whole rant above!**

**Oh, and I also gave you some much-awaited Meg/Connor.**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**-Lou**

**PS 880 REVIEWS! KSJBFRKJEZGNVKALERBJKDNF!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Oh, that's cool!...No, for the love of Hera, don't wear- Oh, hi there! I didn't see you there over the NEW CHAPTER!**

**I'd like to apologize to 'The Guest' as I feel like I had overreacted to that little review. Y'know, sometimes, one little thing can really push you over the edge… Sigh… Anyway, thanks for the reviews giving me a kick in the butt n' whatnot. ;) I needed that.**

**Questions:**

**Q: ****What sports (if any) do you play?**

**A: Quidditch, duh!**

**Q: ****And if you could eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be?**

**A: Mmm… Greek ribs! Love 'em!**

**Q: What is your favorite sport?**

**A: I'd have to say dance blows everything out of the water. And, yes, dance is a sport. I'd like to see a football player (no offence to football players) hold their leg up above ninety degrees for five minutes whilst having your ballet teacher hold a lighter under your leg (this actually happened to my ballet teacher, not kidding!).**

**Q:** **Do you like chinese food?**

**A: Who doesn't?**

**Q: Who are your favorite characters in The Walking Dead?**

**A: I'm not very far into it, only Season 2, but I'm liking Glenn. He's pretty awesome.**

**Q: Do you like Avatar?**

**A: Never really watched it, so I wouldn't know… Sorry!**

**Disclaimer: Only the plot and the OC's.**

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"Okay, it's time for bed. It's nearly midnight and you have a long day tomorrow," Helen said and placed her tea mug on the coffee table. The twins, Connor and Travis all groaned dramatically.

"Aw…! But Moooooom!" Bobby whined and threw himself back on the couch dramatically.

"Nope, time for bed," Mr. Chase said with authority.

My mom got up and brushed off her skirt. "Are you three staying the night?" she asked Connor, Travis and Meg, who had stayed for some tea so Meg could rest for a bit.

Connor and Travis had a silent conversation, probably debating the pros and cons of leaving now or staying. They both nodded in unison after a minute. "Yeah, if it isn't too much trouble," Travis said and ran his fingers through his hair.

My mom smiled. "It's never a trouble, Travis, dear. You're always welcome. I'm afraid that you're going to have to sleep on the floor out here, though. Bobby and Matthew will have to share the couch and Meg will take the recliner. Annabeth, I assume you'll be sleeping in Percy's room?"

Annabeth blushed and nodded.

"I'll help you with the clean-up, Sally," Helen said.

"Yeah," Mr. Chase and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and I flushed at his hard gaze.

I gathered up the small desert plates from the cookies and the tray of left over cookies. I started packing the cookies in a Tuperware container when Mr. Chase came up beside me and started putting them away as well.

My mom, Annabeth and Helen were chatting away about trivial things while Connor and Travis and Bobby and Matthew were setting up their beds for the night in the living room. Meg was fast asleep in the recliner, strands of sweaty black hair sticking to her parted lips, flying up every few seconds as she let out a puff of breath.

"So," Mr. Chase said tightly, "what do you plan on doing after we clean up?"

"Er," I said uncertainly, "go to bed?"

"With my daughter?" he asked, his cheeks slightly splotchy.

I turned red. "Um, no, not like that…"

"Hm," he said shortly. "So, you're sleeping with her?"

I started to cough. "No, no, no! No! No! We, er, we haven't… you know…"

"Had sex?" Mr. Chase asked innocently. Yeah, right…

I turned bright red. I swear, I made that tomato on the counter jealous. Yeah, that's right tomato, who rules your life now, huh? I do! I am Percy Jackson, King of Tomatoes!

Agh, stupid ADHD!

"No, we, no! We don't…do that," I said, feeling extremely awkward.

"Good," Mr. Chase said and clapped me on the shoulder. I winced at his firm grip. For such a skinny guy, he sure had a firm grip. "You love her, though, right? You won't leave her?"

I turned to face him and looked into his golden brown eyes sternly. "Mr. Chase," I said, "I love your daughter more than life itself. I gave up immortality and my sanity for her. It would be crazy for me to leave the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Mr. Chase smiled at me warmly. "Good," he said. "Even though I didn't do the best at expressing it when she was young, I, er, I really do love her and I want only what's best for her. And, right now, I can see that you're the best thing for her."

I smiled wryly. "It goes both ways, sir."

"Please, call me Frederick," Frederick said.

"Frederick," I amended. I smiled at him and loaded the plates in the dishwasher.

Annabeth's POV

"So, is Percy a good kisser?" Helen asked me.

I coughed loudly, "Pardon?"

Sally laughed out loud and Helen looked particularly mischievous. "You know, is he good at kissing?"

"Er…" I said unsurely. "I guess so…"

"Ooooh!" Helen squealed. "So, have you done it yet?"

"WHAT?" I shrieked. "Wh-Why?"

"I'll take that as a yes," Sally said as she washed the mugs in the sink. She handed me one and I placed it in the cupboard.

"No," I said finally. "We haven't…gone that far yet."

"Really?" Sally asked with raised eyebrows. I nodded. "Well, I'm impressed. I didn't know Percy had that restraint."

"Well, if he didn't, I'd smack it into him," I muttered. Sally and Helen heard me and burst out laughing.

"Oh I don't doubt you, Annabeth," Sally said, a twinkle in her eye.

I smiled and put away another cup. Finally, we finished with the dishes. Helen placed the dishtowel on the rack and said, "Well, I'd better say goodnight to the boys. Goodnight, Annabeth."

"'Night, Helen," I said and walked over to my dad Percy, who were laughing at some joke Percy had probably just made.

"Hey," Percy said and kissed my temple. He wrapped a protective arm around my waist.

"Hey," I replied and kissed his cheek. My dad raised an eyebrow at us but shrugged it off. "I'm just gonna get changed and I'll be right in, 'kay?"

"'Kay, sounds good," Percy said and gave me another kissed, this time on the jaw.

"'Night, dad," I said and gave my dad a hug, which seemed to surprise him. He stood there in shock for a second before hugging me back.

" Goodnight, dear. I love you, Annabeth. Don't ever forget that," he whispered into my ear.

"I won't," I mumbled. "I love you too. Don't forget that."

"I promise I won't," he said and kissed my cheek. He pulled back and smiled at me. He patted my cheek and let me go.

Percy wrapped an arm around my waist and we started walking down the hall, passing family pictures, mainly ones of Percy in onesies or Sally and Percy playing and smiling happily into the camera. There was one particular picture that caught my eye.

It was one of me, Percy, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Leo and Jason, all covered in dirt and blood, but smiling into the camera. It was when we finally got back to Camp Half-Blood. I remember Percy was so happy to be back home. He was smiling like an idiot, even though half of it was destroyed and we had just been rescued from Tartarus. I was just happy to be back home and safe. I remember Martin, a new Hermes camper, only about ten years old, was forced to take the photo, poor kid.

Though, he did demand one drachma payment, _after_ he had taken the picture, the little shit.

"I love that picture," I sighed and Percy stopped walking to take a look at it.

"Gods," he said, "we all looked so terrible in that picture."

"Yeah, well, we had just defeated an army of Giants and their evil mother," I said and he chuckled.

"Mmm…" He slid his nose along my jaw. "It's one of my favourites."

"Me too," I whispered. "C'mon let's go to bed." I guided him down to his bedroom.

\ le line break /

Percy's POV

_Gabe raised his fist threateningly at the young boy. Percy flinched and crouched behind a kitchen chair for cover._

"_You idiot boy!" Gabe spat, spit flying into the air._

_Percy trembled and licked his chapped lips. Gabe was going to hurt him. Gabe was going to hurt him and his Mommy wouldn't be able to save him from him this time._

"_What the fuck were you thinking?" Gabe roared and flipped the table on its side._

"_I-I-" Percy stuttered and tears slipped down his cheeks._

"_Stop crying, you bastard child. You can cry after. Shut up and clean up the mess you made, punk," Gabe sneered and kicked the child to the ground._

"_Yes, s-sir," stuttered Percy and picked himself off of the ground, only to be pushed down onto the dirty carpet again by Gabe's large hands._

"_I didn't say you could walk around. You act like you own this fucking apartment walking around and running around, but you don't, you runt. Until you start paying for the rent, when I'm around, you crawl. You crawl like the useless, pathetic child you are. Now, clean up this mess you made!" Gabe sneered and kicked the child again in the side, bruising up his ribs._

_Percy felt the tears drip down his cheeks and onto the floor. His eight-year-old self crawled, flinching as he passed Gabe, to the kitchen. Gabe spat a glob of spit into his hair and Percy flinched again. Gabe had always been cruel, but he had never _spit_ on him before._

_The boy grabbed the dishcloth from the sink and started mopping the beer he had accidently knocked out of Gabe's hands._

_It had been a total accident. He heard a knock on the door and thought it was his mom coming home from work on the Saturday afternoon, but it had been someone knocking on the apartment door next door. This had made Gabe particularly angry, when Percy had knocked his beer can out of his hand as he played online strip poker. It made him lose a _whole round_ of poker. And the hot babe he was playing against was just about to take her bra of._

_Gabe laughed cruelly at the pathetic child in front of him. Oh, how he loved this. He loved the power he had over this child. He loved the fact that, with one strike, the runt was his personal slave._

"_Stand up," Gabe drawled lazily once Percy had finished moping up the beer. Percy stumble to his feet. Gabe grabbed him by the collar. His alcohol tainted breath puffed into Percy's face and Percy wrinkled his nose and swallowed a gag. "You are not going to tell your mom, are you?"_

_Percy choked; his shirt digging into his windpipe, making it difficult for him to breathe._

"_Are you?" Gabe growled and shook the boy._

"_N-No," Percy stuttered. Gabe threw him to the floor and Percy coughed, breathing fresh air into his lungs._

"_Go to your room, you useless bastard," Gabe sneered and kicked Percy in the side one last time._

_Percy ran into his room and quickly pushed a chair in front of the door, to block Gabe out of his room._

_He sat down on the bed and wrapped his arms around his knees before continuing to sob into his arms._

I gasped as I sat up in my bed. My sheets were soaked in cold sweat. Moonlight was streaming through the window, casting shadows of my desk and my nightstand across the floor.

Annabeth rubbed her eyes and looked up at me. "Percy?" she mumbled. "Wha'srong?"

"N-Nothing," I stuttered.

"Liar," she mumbled. "Something's wrong, Perce. Tell me…"

I bit my lip and started to tell her about my dream, but I broke down before I got one word out. She sat up and gathered me into her arms. She stroked my overgrown hair with her hands, mumbling little reassurances in my ears.

"Sh… You're okay, now… We're okay now…" she mumbled and I just cried into her shoulder.

My body shook and tears swam down my cheeks, just like they did those nine years ago.

My sobbing finally calmed down and she lat me back down on the pillows. I pulled her close to me, wrapping my arms firmly around her waist.

She brushed the hair out of my eyes and kissed me chastely. "What was it about?" she asked.

"G-Gabe," I stuttered and she closed her eyes shut in pain.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry that that happened to you."

I pulled her even closer to me and our legs tangled together into one big knot. "You c-couldn't have st-stopped i-it from happening," I whispered.

"I wish I could have," she whispered back. We were silent for a few moments when she broke it by saying, "Go to sleep Percy. I'll be here if you need me."

"I'll always need you," I said.

She kissed my neck softly. "And I, you."

"I love you," I said into her hair.

"I love you too," she whispered and my eyes drooped shut.

Frederick's POV

I lay awake to the sound of their conversation, just a room across from us. Helen was curled up against the wall, mumbling softly in her sleep.

I liked Percy; I had decided that tonight when he told me how much he loved Annabeth, but I wasn't so sure how I felt about them sleeping in the same bed. Until now, that is.

Percy had sounded so…broken, so unlike the boy I had met tonight. I wondered who Gabe was, but decided that it was none of my business and not to ask.

Did they suffer this every night? Did they revisit their worst memories every single night, only to wake up and realize that it was all just a dream and that they were safe from harm?

I didn't know and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. I just hoped that they were safe now.

* * *

**Thank you very much for reading, my lovelies.**

**There's this lovely thing called the review box just below. Perhaps you would like to click on it and type in a few words of encouragement for faster updates?**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**-Lou**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey! Sorry I took so long to update; I had to pack for Camp, which I am counseling at, starting Saturday and I went and got a new cat tonight. Her name is Calvin, because our friends thought that she was a boy. She wasn't…**

**Questions:**

**Q: ****What is your favorite holiday?**

**A: Um, Christmas.**

**Q: Percy was never abused though, in the books. Right?**

**A: Rick never out-right said that he was, but it was implied. I mean, to my understanding, it was. Plus, if you it bothers you, you don't need to read it. I am the author, and this may sound really rude, but as the author, my opinion is higher than yours. Sorry.**

**Q: Can we use some of your fanfiction to make our own?**

**A: Mm… You can use little ideas, if you PM me about them and ask permission first… And if you give me credit for it. But, no, other than that, if I find you using my plots or my new story ideas, I'm gonna have to ask you to take it down. Feel free to PM me about it, though. We'll see.**

**Q: Are you in like, SUPER competitive dance?**

**A: Depends on what you mean by 'SUPER competitive'. I think we are. I mean, we're a good group. It takes a certain type of person to be able to have 52 people on stage and tell a whole plot in 15 minutes.**

**Disclaimer: Do I seriously still have to do these? Okay, fine; I DON'T OWN THIS!**

* * *

_Beep! _"Hey Rowen, it's, um, it's me again. Um, so, I know you're mad at me and stuff, but please just call me back and I'll explain everything. Um, you know my number… I love you, bye." The answering machine beeped again and I drew another line on my paper.

Eight times. He had called me eight times. I sighed and threw myself onto my queen size bed. I grabbed a chocolate from the box beside me and popped it into my mouth. The creamy caramel and chocolate melted against my tongue. Ah yes, this was comfort food.

I groaned and sat back up again. I stared at my cell phone; glared at it more likely. I hated that little demon. Always ringing and tempting me to call him back. Ugh, it was all so confusing!

It beeped again and the message was played aloud.

"Rowen," it said, "I know you. I know you're sitting there, on your bed, staring at your phone. I know you hate me right now. And I know that you're probably eating chocolate to no end. But, please, no matter how much you hate me, please just call me back. Please… Listen, Rowen, I love you so much and I would never intentionally hurt you. Mia kissed me. I didn't kiss her. Why would I want to kiss her? She's a jerk, and you're… you're… amazing… Well, call me back. I'll do anything, Row. I love you, bye."

My hand hesitated over the cell phone. He had sounded so desperate… So alone. No! Resist the temptation! Resist the temptation! I grabbed the phone and threw across the room as hard as I could. It smashed into the wall, creating a dent in the green-painted dry wall. Oops.

I dragged myself out of bed, my sweatpants dragging across the floor as I crossed the room to pick it up. I pulled up Justin's number, my thumbs doing a little dance overtop of it. To call or not to call?

I groaned in frustration and buried myself in pillows. I lay there, eagle-spread, on the bed and drifted asleep slowly.

"_What the-" I exclaimed. I was standing in the middle of a bright white room. Florescent lights hung on the ceiling, providing harsh lighting._

_I looked down at myself; my hair was out, cascading around my shoulders and I was wearing a white blouse and white jeans. My feet were bare, so I could feel the cold floor beneath my feet._

"_So, you forgive me yet?"_

_I jumped in surprise. I turned around and there was Justin. His hair was in its usual spiky disarray and he was wearing a loose white t-shirt and white pants. He too was bare foot. His hands were in his pockets and he was slouching casually, like this was the most normal thing in the world._

"_J-Justin?" I stuttered like an idiot._

_He smiled at me. Then, he bit his lip nervously and looked rather sheepish. "Er… Look, Row, I'm, uh, I'm sorry about Mia. Honest to God, she kissed me, not the other way around."_

_I starred at him in awe. "O-Okay…" I said slowly. "Okay, I believe you."_

_He grinned at me. "You do?"_

_I nodded stupidly. He ran toward me and captured me in a hug. I melted against him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He kissed me softly and I kissed him back._

_He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. "God, I missed you," he whispered. His peppermint-scented breath blew into my face. I smiled at him and he kissed me again._

_Warmth seeped through my body. My fingers and toes tingled with electricity. He lifted me off of the ground and carried me to a bed (don't ask me where it came from; I haven't the slightest idea). He set me down gently and rested his body on me, his weight on his forearms so he didn't crush me. He kissed me again, this time more urgent and passionate._

_He kissed my nose and pulled back. "Listen, Rowen, there's something I need to tell you," he whispered._

"_Mmmhmm? What?" I asked contently. I gave him a drunken smile._

"_I-"_

"Rowen!" my dad shouted and I sat up in bed. I shook my head and my hair fell around my shoulders in messy waves.

What the hell was that? What just happened?

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, dad?" I shouted back.

"C'mere! There's someone at the door for you!"

"Who is it?" I asked. I quickly straightened my shirt and patted down my hair. I realized quickly that my hair simply wasn't going to cooperate, I grabbed a hair elastic from my nightstand and tied it into a messy bun.

"Just come here!" he yelled.

I let out a breath of air angrily. "Fine, I'll be right there!" I said. I winced as my joints cracked and popped from sleep, even though I had only been asleep for a little bit of time. Whoa… Scratch that. It was already nine thirty! I had slept through dinner. I'd have to ask Jolie, our housekeeper, to make me something to eat.

Jolie was from Texas. She had wrinkly, tanned skin that hung off her short frame like baggy clothes. Her light brown hair, now streaked with grey, was always pulled into a tight bun with a bandana keeping the stray hairs out of her face. She only wore Southern Belle dresses, usually with some sort of floral print and she always had a towel hanging over her shoulder, whether it was to be used to dry dishes or whip you when you got out of line. She was old enough to be my grandma, but she sure as heck didn't act like a grandmother. She had been working for us ever since I was little.

And I loved her.

I grabbed a hoodie from the floor and pulled it on. I ran down the stairs and walked to the front hall.

Our suite was large and echo-y. It had Greek-style pillars and dark hardwood floors and a crystal chandelier hanging in the front hall. The stairs were in a spiral, so it was fun to run down them. When I was little, Meg and I used to use cardboard as sleds and race down the stairs. This usually resulted in a black eye or a split lip, but it was still fun.

"Hey," I said to my dad. He moved away from the figure he was blocking in front of the door. I sucked in a breath and my eyes went wide.

Justin stood there in the doorway; his hair in the same messy disarray it was in my dream. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a hoodie thrown over top, both wet from the rain, and jeans.

He bit his lip nervously and said, "Hey, Row."

I nodded slowly. "Hey, Justin. Um, why don't you come upstairs to talk?" I asked.

He smiled anxiously and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"'Kay, then… Um, follow me," I said and started to lead him out of the rain outside.

"Rowen, would ya like me to bring some snacks up later?" Jolie asked, who had just come out from the kitchen. Her Southern drawl hung off of her words.

"Not really, Jolie. But thanks anyway," I said and she smiled at me.

"Y'all better not get into any funny business, y'hear? Or I'll come up there and I'll tan both of yer hides," Jolie threatened. She fingered her towel and narrowed her eyes at Justin.

I grinned at her. "I'll be sure to remember that, Jolie."

"I'm watching you both, 'specially you, boy," Jolie said and nodded at Justin.

Justin, who considered Jolie the grandma he never had, grinned at her and nodded as well.

"What're ya just standin' there for? Get goin'!" Jolie said and ushered us to the stairs.

We walked up the stairs in a tense silence. Our footsteps echoed in the house. I opened the door to my bedroom for Justin. He muttered me a thanks and sat down on the edge of my bed.

I sat down beside him and wrung my hands together on my lap. A few awkward moments passed.

Justin suddenly grabbed my chin and pulled my face to his. He pressed his lips gently to mine and pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, red in the face. "It's been too long since I got the chance to do that."

I nodded and looked down at my hands. "I've missed you," I whispered.

"I missed you, too," he said. "You must have gotten my messages; why didn't you call back?"

"After the ninth one, I, uh, I was going to, but I fell asleep," I said. I felt my face warm and cooled my cheeks with the backs of my hands.

Justin chuckled and said, "You fell asleep for four hours?"

"Hey," I defended, "I haven't gotten a lot of sleep these past few nights!"

He held his arms up in surrender. "Okay, okay," he said. We were silent for a few more moments. "So, do you believe me?" he asked finally.

I sighed and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "Yeah, I believe you," I said.

He let out a breath of relief. "Oh thank God," he gasped. I laughed and he pulled me against him for a hug. "I love you so freaking much," he said with a smile.

"I love you too," I said. He pressed his soft lips against mine, this time more urgent. He smiled against my mouth and I slid my hands up his arms and into his hair. He rested his hands onto my waist and slid them onto my hips. Justin gripped my hips with his hands and kissed my cheek.

"We should stop," he murmured and I nodded.

"I missed this," I whispered and he nodded in agreement.

He pulled away from me and frowned. "Is that my sweater?" he asked.

"No…" I said slowly and pulled the warm fabric tighter against my body.

"It is my sweater!" he exclaimed.

"Well," I said and tried a voice of reason, "as your girlfriend, does it not meant hat I get full access to your clothes?"

He laughed. "Sure, but that means I get full access to your clothes!"

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Sure thing; you can wear my skinny jeans all you want. I'd like to see that."

He grinned at me mischievously. "That's not what I was thinking of taking." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

My face went red and I smacked him on the shoulder. "Justin!" I scolded and he laughed.

I heard a knock on the door and my dad said through the wood, "Okay, I'm coming in. Stop sticking your tongues down each other's throats because I really don't want to be scarred for life."

"Dad, we aren't doing anything bad," I sighed.

My dad poked his head through the door and smiled at us. "Sure you weren't. I just got a call from your mom, Justin. You're supposed to go back home now."

Justin nodded and gave me one last peck. "Okay, I gotta go… I'll call you tomorrow; maybe we can go for a walk in Central Park or something."

"Sounds good," I said and kissed him again. "I love you," I murmured.

"I love you, too," he said and walked out the door.

My dad looked at the door and back at me. He grinned and asked, "So, what kind of flowers for the reception?"

"Dad!"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Next one won't be posted for another week and a bit because I'm out of town.**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**-Lou**

**P.S.: HOLY CRAP! 1000+ REVIEWS! KJBCDFSKBDKVJBRKBV!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Heyo! Back from camp, which was pretty good, but I'm super tired. And I got bit by a spider and my hand looks like a melon, and I had to go to the minor emergency office. So, yeah, it was definitely interesting.**

**Questions:**

**Q: ****How old we're you when you first read the PJO series?**

**A: I was in grade five, so I was ten.**

**Q: Do you plan on doing more Tartarus flashbacks?**

**A: Yes, of course.**

**Awww… Guys, no more questions? I'm disappointed.**

**Disclaimer: Δεν είμαι κύριος PJO. Rick Riordan κάνει. Take a guess.**

"So, what do you want to do today?" I asked my dad and took a bite from my apple. I hopped up onto the kitchen counter, my feet swinging in the air like a child's. Percy sat down beside me and snatched a piece of bacon from my plate. "Hey!" I exclaimed in outrage; that was my bacon.

He shrugged and asked, "Aren't the possessions of two people who are a couple shared?"

"Yeah," I said, "if they're _married!"_ I huffed and grabbed the bacon out of his hand.

Percy tapped me on the nose and I swatted at his hand. "Someday," he said mysteriously.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to my father (after indulging in the bacon, of course). "I don't know," he said, his voice rough from sleep, though it was already eleven in the morning.

"What about a walk around Central Park?" Paul suggested as he poured himself a glass of chocolate milk.

Sally nodded. "That sounds wonderful! We haven't been there in a while."

I nodded enthusiastically; Percy and I hadn't had the chance to do that yet, and it was a cliché New York couple thing to do.

A groan came from the living room. I hopped off the counter and went to see whom it was. What I saw made my face break out into a grin. Beside me, Percy stifled a laugh with his hand.

Connor and Meg were fast asleep on the recliner. Meg was curled up against Connor's chest and he had one arm resting lazily on her waist. The other was thrown over his eyes to block out the sunlight streaming through the living room window.

Meg grumbled in her sleep and her eyes fluttered open. Her violet eyes looked confused. Then, they widened in shock and she let out a loud scream. _"What the hell!"_ she shouted and jumped out of Connor's arms and onto the floor.

Connor's eyes flew open and he jumped when he saw Meg on the floor. _"Where am I?"_ he shouted and tipped the chair over with a loud _thump!_

I burst into laughter. Sally shook her head and walked back to the kitchen. Paul followed her, laughing quietly. My dad and Helen backed out of the room slowly, like they were slowly escaping a crime scene.

"Wha…What?" Travis muttered and burst into insane laughter when he saw Connor and Meg on the ground. "Oh, how the tables have turned! Nice one, Connor!"

Once everyone had calmed down and Meg and Connor had stopped blushing so much, I said, "Hey, Meg?"

"Yeah?"

"How's your forehead and ribs?" I asked her and she shrugged. Then winced.

"Okay," she hissed. "Note to self; do not move shoulders, or any other part of the body."

Connor sat up and helped Meg onto the couch. Her breath caught in her throat again and she gripped Connor's shoulder tightly. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ooooow!" Connor hissed, but kept his arm within her grasp. I had to admit, I had gained a little respect for guy, watching him take care of Meg.

"Sorry," Meg muttered sheepishly.

"S'okay," Connor replied.

"We were going to go Central Park today," Percy said. "You in?"

"Heck yeah!" Travis said and whooped.

Connor, however, looked hesitant. "Um, I don't think it'd be a good idea for Meg to walk around. At least for another day, maybe two," he said. Meg rolled her eyes.

"Okay," Sally called from the kitchen. "You two can stay here and laze around if you'd like… I'd imagine we'll be gone for the afternoon and maybe grab some dinner as well."

Percy, Travis and I nodded. Meg and Connor shrugged. Well, Meg tried to but stopped halfway, winced then groaned. She slowly lay back on the pillows. Connor grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and switched the T.V. onto Looney Tunes.

"Ugh," Meg groaned. "Change it."

"Why?" Connor asked, thoroughly offended.

Meg licked her lips. "It was Laura's favourite show!"

"Who's Laura?" I asked.

"Um," Meg mumbled. "I'll tell you later."

"Okay…" I said suspiciously and backed out of the room. I grabbed my apple from the counter.

Matthew and Bobby came out from the hallway. Both were still in their pajamas, hair ruffled and eyes full of sleep.

I placed my hands on my hips. "Where have you two been?" I asked. "You haven't been _snooping_ have you?" I raised my eyebrows at them. They looked down at the floor guiltily. "Ugh, who?"

Matthew looked up at me, an evil glint in his brown eyes. "Why do you have a baby picture of Percy under your pillow?"

I blushed red. "You little _brat!"_ I screeched.

Bobby blinked innocently. "Yeah, why do you? And that other shirtless picture of Percy coming out of the water, soaking wet."

"I'm going to _murder_ you two!" I screamed and began to run at them but Percy grabbed me from behind. His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me close to him.

He put his lips close to my ear. "You have a picture of my as a baby and shirtless?"

I blushed and he chuckled. I shoved my elbow to his abdomen. "Shut up," I hissed angrily.

"Hey, Percy?" Bobby asked.

Percy looked up. "Um, yeah?"

"Why do you have a box under your bed with a bunch of pictures of Annabeth and hair elastics and bracelets and girl stuff?" Matthew asked, 'innocently'.

Percy's face turned red. "Why the heck were you going through my stuff?"

They both shrugged. "Just trying to protect our sister," they said in unison.

"From what?" Percy and I asked at the same time.

"From you," they said.

"Okay," I said, "this unison needs to stop!" I wrung my hands together. "Why the heck would you think that I need protecting? Especially from Percy."

They shrugged. "I dunno," Matthew said, "maybe he would pressure you into something."

I sighed in exasperation. "Okay, listen up, you two. Percy wouldn't pressure me into anything. He's fallen into a gaping pit of doom for me. He has saved my life on multiple occasions. If anyone needs protecting right now, it's you two," I said and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Um," Bobby asked slowly, "why would we need protecting?"

"Because," I snarled, "you were snooping through my stuff."

"Eek!" they shrieked and ran into the bathroom and locked the door.

My dad came running to our side. "What on earth is going on?" he demanded.

"Bobby and Matthew were searching through my stuff! Dad, do something!" I said and pouted.

"Matthew and Bobby Chase! Open this door, right now!" Dad said and rapped on the door smartly.

The door opened just a crack. Their heads peeked out of the crack. "Promise you'll hold her back?" they asked, once again in unison.

"Oh please," I scoffed. "As if _they_ could hold me back if I wanted to attack you. I'm not a daughter of Athena for nothing."

"Hey!" Percy exclaimed, an offended expression etched into his features.

"You know it's true," I said. "You may be strong, but even strength-"

"-has to bow to wisdom sometimes," Percy said. "I know, I know."

I rolled my eyes, but a small smile found its way onto my face. I found it sweet that he still remembered what I said to him all those years ago. Our first year together at camp. Ah, yes… Good times.

My dad was about to say something, but was interrupted by Sally. She bit her lip nervously and said, "Is anything wrong? We were just about to leave."

"Nothing, Mom," Percy said and whispered to me, "Just leave it. They're not worth it."

I wrenched myself out of his grasp. "Whatever," I muttered. "I'm going to get ready and see what else you snooped through. Mind my warning, the next time you so much as _touch_ my stuff without my permission, _I will feed you to the harpies."_

I stomped to Percy's room and slammed the door. I pulled my shirt off and replaced it with a cream coloured blouse. I pulled on some shorts and tightened the leather belt around my waist, attaching my knife to my side. I slicked my hair back into a ponytail and glanced at my reflection in the mirror. I looked the same as always; same old boring Annabeth.

I bit my lip and took my hair out of the elastic. It fell around my shoulders in ringlets. I took a little elastic and secured it around my index finger. I began French braiding my hair and tied it at the end. I flicked it over my shoulder, so it ended just under my breast.

"Time to go," I whispered and walked out the door. Percy was standing outside, leaning against the doorframe casually. "What?" I asked.

He smiled at me and kissed me softly. "I love you," he whispered and caressed my cheek softly.

"I know," I whispered back. He smiled back at me and kissed my nose one last time.

"Let's go," he said and grabbed my hand, leading me to the front door.

**Feel free to leave a review in that lovely little box below.**

**Thanks!**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**-Lou**

**P.S.: NEARLY 1 100 REAVIEWS! WHAAAAT?!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello, people of earth! I'm back with another update! You love me, don't you?**

**Questions:**

**Q: ****Can you make more Percabeth scenes?**

**A: Um… I do as many as I can while still having plot, without it being mindless fluff. Plus, I'd like to get into more of the depth of the characters. **

**Q: How long is this going to be?**

**A: I imagine that it will be about 40 chapters max.**

**Q: Who are your top 5 authors?**

**A: J.K. Rowling, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and Rick Riordan.**

**Q: Has Aggie read the PJO and HoO series?**

**A: No, she hasn't. That's why she's reading their fanfiction, also writing it… (Of course she has!)**

**Q: What grade are you going into?**

**A: I am going into grade nine.**

**Q: If you were a PJO character, who would you like and try to have a relationship with?**

**A: Mm… I'd say either Percy, 'cause he's, well, Percy or Connor Stoll, because I think that Connor is a really good character and that Rick Riordan just needs to elaborate on the twins more.**

**Q: Have you ever been to Central Park?**

**A: Haha, I freaking wish!**

**Q: Have you watched the PJO movie and, if you have, do you like it?**

**A: Yes, I have and no, I thought that it was clichéd and didn't follow the books at all, the editing was crap and the whole story-line was messed up. Once again, this is my opinion, so don't go on some sort of rant about how I should give movie-makers more credit. I edit film in my spare time and I have been in drama for ten years.**

**Q: Do you plan on doing any more Harry Potter fanfics?**

**A: Mmm… Maybe, it depends if I get an idea for some.**

**Disclaimer: ****Roh tua suoma fai maro ne sih cnarf sih tfo sret carah conn woi. Sae dinwo ymtu bgnih tonn woi. (Read this Mirror of Erised style [Backwards and rearranged, for you non-Potterheads])**

* * *

Frederick's POV

"Thanks for the ice cream dad!" Bobby said and licked his chocolate ice cream happily. We were walking down a paved path, the trees forming a green canopy over our heads.

I laughed and ruffled his hair affectionately. Helen slipped her hand into mine and smiled at me. The sunlight reflected off of her dark brown hair, making it shine a dark red. Her brown eyes shined happily. I hadn't seen her look so free in a long time. Helen's parents divorced when she was quite young, and they hated each other ever since. She spent the rest of her life with her parents fighting over her and flying halfway across the country every summer to visit her drunk-half-the-time dad.

Then, she married me and Annabeth didn't accept her. She wanted her mom back and Helen didn't seem to cut it. I can understand why, though; Helen and I didn't accept her either. Helen had been weighed down with guilt ever since Annabeth ran away. I think she'd regretted being cold to her ever since, but never found the courage to apologize properly. And now that she had, she was acting like the weight of the sky had been lifted off her shoulders.

I gazed up ahead. Percy wrapped his arm around my daughter's waist and I felt my heart tighten. He leaned into her and whispered into her ear. She threw her head back in laughter and kissed his cheek. He smiled like he had won a million dollars. Annabeth leaned her head against his shoulder and said something I couldn't hear.

Percy grinned and said, "Race ya!" They took off running into the distance, laughing the whole way.

I felt an ache in my chest growing bigger. I had missed my baby girl grow up. I think that that was my biggest regret in life; pushing away my daughter. Instead of being the dad I know I could be, I let someone else raise her. She looked so much like her mother, absolutely stunning. And, I meant that in a non-creepy way.

"Dad! Dad!" Matthew said, ice cream covering his chin. "Dad, can we go to the playground?"

"Of course, sweetie," Helen said and wiped his ice cream covered face off with a napkin.

"Moooom…" Matthew whined and brushed away his mother's arm. "Hey Bobby! I'll race you to the playground!"

"You're on!" Bobby exclaimed. "Dad! Say ready, set, go!"

"Okay, boys," I said and smiled. "Ready… Set… Go!"

They raced down the path, dodging disgruntled mothers and joggers as they went. Helen laughed and kissed my cheek. Together, we picked up our pace and headed to the playground.

Annabeth's POV

"Hey, Percy!" I cried. "Push me on the swing!"

"What?" Percy asked, scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion.

I rolled my eyes. "Would you please push me on the swing?"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Okay… This isn't weird at all."

"Shut up and push me, Seaweed Brain," I said and sat down on the wooden seat. He pulled me backwards and pushed me forwards. I laughed and untied my hair from its braid. It flew behind me. My cheeks flushed from the cold air and I grinned.

But, of course, my bliss was interrupted by a nasally, high-pitched voice.

"OMG! What are the odds that we would meet here, Percy!"

Percy whipped his head around and I stopped the swing by digging my heels into the sand. The sand seeped through the holes in my converse, dirtying my socks.

Mia stood there, in all her glory. Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail. She was wearing a bright yellow crop top and cut-off pastel pink shorts. On her feet, she wore strappy, rhinestone encrusted gladiator sandals.

Percy ran a hand through his hair. "What are you doing here, Mia?" he asked, trying to mask the irritation in his voice. It wasn't working well.

"Well," Mia said distastefully, "my family wanted to go for a 'family walk' and I was forced to come along. But, look at this! Just our luck that we would run into each other."

"Yeah," I said wryly, getting off the swing. I walked over to Percy and gripped his hand in mine. "Just our luck."

"Annabeth," Percy warned me under his breath. I gritted my teeth angrily.

"Mia! Darling!" a deep voice said from behind us. I looked over my shoulder to see an older man with graying hair and the start of a gut. He wore an expensive dress shirt and slacks and a woman on his arm. She wore an expensive skirt suit and a large diamond ring on her left ring finger.

Mia's dad took us in and scanned us up and down. "Oh, who are your friends, sweetheart?" he asked and gave us a cold smile.

"This is Percy Jackson, daddy. Remember? The one I told you about?" Mia said and fluttered her eyelashes at my boyfriend. I felt my face heat up in anger.

"Oh yes, I remember you mentioning him now," her dad said. He held out his hand in greeting. "My name is Mark, I'm Mia's father." He turned to me, his ice blue eyes bearing into me. "And, you are?"

"Her name's Annabeth," Percy said and placed an arm around my waist protectively. "My girlfriend."

"I see," Mark said and pursed his lips. "Mia, your mother and I will be walking around the park. You can come and join us later if you'd like. You know my number." He tapped his pocket, which probably held his phone. He then walked away like nothing happened. Mia muttered something angrily under her breath.

"So, Percy," Mia said. "What's up?"

"Well, we're just here with Annabeth's family right now and-"

He was cut off by Bobby and Matthew running into him at full speed. He was thrown into the ground, taking me with him.

"Bobby and Matthew Chase!" I screamed and pushed myself off of the ground. My brothers were standing over top of us, laughing their heads off at the fact that we were on the ground. "What the heck is wrong with you?"

They both shrugged and were silent until Bobby shouted, "Last one to the top is it for ta-ag!" They then bolted from the scene to the top of the play structure.

I sighed and helped Percy form the ground. I brushed the dirt off of my blouse and shorts and tied my hair back into a ponytail. I guess being different would have to wait for another day.

"Yeah, we're here with my family," I said. "Those were my two half-brothers."

"Half-brothers?" Mia asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "Your mom walked out on you to?"

"That's not really any of your- Wait. What do you mean 'to'?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

Mia pursed her lipstick-covered lips. "Nothing, it slipped out," she snapped. "I should get going. Nice running into you, Percy." She fluttered her fake eyelashes one last time before running after her father and his new wife.

"That was odd," I observed. What was Mia getting to? Did her mom leave her when she was young? What was she really hiding behind her mask of stupidity?

"I know, right?" Percy said. He kissed my cheek. "Let's go find Mom and Paul. I think we're leaving soon."

* * *

**Hmm… Wonder what's happened in Mia's life, non? And, what happened with Meg and Connor? Not to mention the mischief Travis go up to.**

**I'll update sometime soon-ish!**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**-Lou**


	22. Chapter 22

**Wow, since when do I update this early? Well, I am now, so ha!**

**Oh yeah, and MIA IS NOT A DEMIGOD!**

**Questions:**

**Q: ****Are you interested in the sea of monsters movie?**

**A: HOOOOLY CRAP! I'M GOING TO SEE IT IN TWO DAYS! I'M GOING INSANE!**

**Q: Is there going to be another sequel for this story?**

**A: No. No, no, no! Hell to the no! No.**

**Q: Do you have a YouTube channel?**

**A: I do, but I'm not allowed to upload videos. Though, my sister and I make web shows that are … pretty weird…**

**Q: If you could have one super power, what would it be?**

**A: Mmm… invisibility, because then I could sneak around my house and stuff.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this! I just don't! You don't need to rub it in, okay?!**

* * *

Mia's POV

I couldn't believe I had let that slip. I barely knew them and I had almost told them about Mom. I straightened my shirt and flipped my hair over my shoulder, letting a wince slip through my lips as I moved my sore neck.

I rubbed the back of my neck and another wince escaped my lips as I prodded at the bruise forming there. I dropped my hand by my side and bit the inside of my lip. I walk down the paved path trying to avoid my dad and his witch of a wife.

I seriously hated Elizabeth. I hated her with every fiber of my being. I hated her fake boobs, her fake smile, her fake brown hair, and her fake happiness. I hated it when she smiled at me like she was planning my murder during the night.

My foot caught on a root protruding from the pavement and I slammed face-first into the ground. My knees scraped against the floor and I felt something warm running down my legs. My palms ached from road-rash.

"Shit," I hissed and picked myself off the ground. Stupid root, stupid pavement, stupid knees, stupid dad, stupid Elizabeth, stupid everything!

I picked the gravel out of my skin, biting down profanities as I did so.

"Hey!" said a voice behind me. I turned and saw a boy with curly sandy blonde hair and brown eyes and a mischievous smile. "You okay?" he asked.

I blinked stupidly. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said and started down the path again.

He grabbed my arm to stop me. "No, your not," he said and pulled something out of his pocket. "Here." He offered me some moist toilettes and band-aids.

"Thanks," I muttered and sat down on the grass and began cleaning my palms and knees. Who had band-aids and moist toilettes on them, anyway? That was just weird.

"I know you form somewhere," he said.

I narrowed my eyes, "Um, okay."

"You're Mia, right?" he asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Yeah…" I said slowly.

"Oh," he said stupidly. "That's why you look familiar. I'm Travis. Travis Stoll." Oh! He was form school! I knew it!

Well, actually I didn't, but whatever.

"Well, I'm Bond. James Bond," I joked and he laughed. I pressed the sticky bandage to my knee. "You're one of Percy's friends, right?"

"Yep," he said and smirked. "And you're acting a lot different than you do at school."

I bit my lip. "Um, yeah, I gotta go."

"Why?" he asked. "Sorry if I offended you, or something. I just meant that it's a nice change."

I smiled sadly and picked myself up off the grass. "Well, as much as I'd like to continue this conversation, I do have to go and catch up with my dad." I started down the path.

"Wait," he said.

I turned to him, placing my hands on my hips. "What?" I asked.

"Why are you so mean to Annabeth?" he asked. I blinked in surprise; he was very forward.

I shrugged. "Because," I said, "it's what everyone expects." And with that, I began jogging down the path, ignoring Travis' calls.

I stopped jogging under a canopy of trees. The sunlight shone through the branches. Because it was fall, the trees had lost some of their leaves and the crunched under my feet. A gust of cold wind blew past me and I wished desperately that I had a sweater, or at least something other than the top that I was wearing.

Honestly, the only reason I wore the clothes I wore was because they bothered Elizabeth, not really to expose myself like everyone thought I did. I knew what people said about me behind my back. They called me a slut, a whore, easy, whatever. But, the truth was, I was still a virgin.

Speaking of Elizabeth, I saw her and my dad walking hand in hand along the path. I ran faster the catch up with them.

"Mia, dar!" my dad said. "How was your walk?"

I was about to answer enthusiastically but felt Elizabeth's cold eyes on me. "Fine," I murmured. "Um, can we go home? I have homework to do."

My dad nodded and led us to the car.

Sally's POV

I sat down on a park bench with Paul. He was running his finger across my knuckles gently.

"This was wonderful," I said with a smile.

He grinned at me. "It was," he said and pecked me on the cheek.

Percy and Annabeth were walking up the path, Percy's arm thrown lazily over Annabeth's shoulder and hers wrapped around his middle.

"You two hungry?" I called. Percy's head snapped up and he smiled when he saw me. He shrugged and Annabeth nodded. "Why don't we go to that Italian place? The one that's just a block away, right?"

Paul nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty close. We can walk there."

"Annabeth, do you know your dad's number? I'll text him to meet us here," I said and Annabeth listed off her dad's cellphone number.

His reply was instant. Him, Helen and the twins were on their way. Now all we needed was Travis.

"Does Travis have a cellphone number?" I asked.

Percy nodded and motioned for the phone. He texted him and we waited for the reply. "He says that he's going back to our apartment to check on Meg and Connor," Percy said. "So, I guess it's just us."

He handed me the phone and I tucked it into my 'mom bag' as Paul liked to call it. I tucked the bag beside my hip. Percy and Annabeth had settled beside a tree. Annabeth had Percy's head resting on her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair and Percy's lips were quirked up in a smile, his eyes closed in bliss.

The four walked down the path, Helen and Frederick holding hand, the twins trying to tip each other as they went.

"So, we were thinking of something Italian for dinner?" I asked.

"Sounds good," said Helen and we started down the block.

"So," Frederick said, "Percy, any plans for the future?"

"Um," Percy said, "I was thinking of working at camp when I get older. You know, as a trainer maybe."

Frederick nodded. "What kind of trainer?" Bobby asked.

"Er…" Percy said uncertainly. "Sword mainly. Maybe I'll help with the pegasi-ow! Annabeth!"

Annabeth had elbowed Percy in the gut to quiet him, but it was too late. Bobby and Matthew were in a frenzy. "Whoa! Pegasi? Can you ride them? Do you have dragons to? What about centaurs?"

"Way to go, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth muttered and shook her head.

We stopped in front of a brick building with a worn sign in the window, naming it an 'Authentic Italian Restaurant'.

"Hey look!" Frederick said. "We're at the restaurant! Maybe we should all shut up now!"

Bobby and Matthew stopped talking instantly. We walked into the restaurant. A young petite woman with black hair and chocolate coloured skin was waiting at a desk by the door.

"How many?" she asked and smiled at us, her white teeth covered in braces.

"Eight," Percy said. She turned her attention to him and raised her eyebrows. I resisted the urge to shake my head; that girl was way out of her league.

"Follow me." She led us through a dimly light hall. She gestured to a table and we all sat down. "My name is Amy. Any drinks for you?"

"I'll take a Coke, please," Percy said.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Root beer!" the twins said in unison.

"I'll take a beer," Paul said.

"Okay," the waitress said and scribbled something down on her notepad. "What would you like?"

"Whatever you have on tap, thanks," Paul said and scanned the menu.

"Anyone else?" she asked.

"Nope, we're good," I said and smiled.

"Okay, I'll be right back with the drinks," she said and walked away.

It was silent for a moment before Annabeth asked, "What time does your flight leave tomorrow?"

"About eleven in the morning," Helen said and took a sip of her water.

"Are you coming down for Christmas?" Annabeth asked. I noticed how Annabeth was using her left hand when she was right-handed. Percy and her were holding hands under the table.

Frederick shook his head. "We can't afford it. Not after this trip. I wish we could, though. I miss New York."

I nodded my head. "It is lovely here," I said and Paul took my hand from underneath the table.

"I love you," he whispered into my ear and I blushed like a schoolgirl.

"Quiet, you," I whispered to him and he chuckled.

* * *

**Mia and Travis are not going to get together, so don't comment on that please.**

**Oh, and I know that Connor and Travis aren't twins. I picked up on that after I re-read the chapter. Thanks for pointing it out, though! That wasn't sarcasm, by the way…**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW! (As always.)**

**-Lou**


	23. Chapter 23

**So, I finally saw the new PJO movie today… It was…decent. I mean the first half was and I really liked Clarisse's character, but **_**why **_**would they have Luke raise Kronos in **_**the second movie**_** with the Golden Fleece on Ployphemeus' island, which, for unknown reason, has a friggin' amusement park on it.**

**The movies make no sense.**

**Question:**

**Q: How long are the chapters on average?**

**A: They're about 5-6 Microsoft pages, more or less (that's about 1500-2000 words).**

**Q: ****Can you have Bobby and Matthew play a bigger part in the story?**

**A: Well, ya see, they're kinda flying across the country the next chapter… So, in other words, no.**

**Q: Ever watched Doctor Who?**

**A: No, I want to though, 'cause it's on Netflix (Yay illegal American Netflix!), but my dad doesn't like it, so I haven't had the chance.**

**Q: Are u going to have Travis and Mia get together?**

**A: Do people even read AN's? They are there for a reason, y'know. Just, go read the last AN for the last chapter.**

**Q (well, more of a comment): If their (Mia and Travis) not going to get together than you should have did that whole little thing. You should've just done the resturant but more in detail and different point of biews. Like Sally's, Percy's, Annabeth's, and Paul's. it may have been boring but from that little scene I wanted them together.**

**A: Maybe I did it so that I could have some character development? And, you know, not everything needs to be about romance. If you want that, go read Twilight. Maybe Travis was just being FRIENDLY. Not flirting friendly, but acting as a friend because he saw someone in trouble. Not every little conversation has to start up a new romantic relationship. And, BTW, GRAMMAR! Gah!**

**Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?**

**A: I recently discovered that I have a love for psychology. So, I want to become a psychiatrist and aid war-torn countries with PTS, brain damage and trauma, mainly children.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, but I own Monopoly! Sigh, it's just not the same…**

* * *

"_A whole new woooooorld…! A new fantastic point of view! No one to tell us no, or where to go! Let me share this whole new world with you…!"_

You know, it's sad when two cartoon characters have more of a love life than yourself. Not to mention if one of those characters has the most annoying voice in the history of the world. And, yeah, I'm talking about Jasmine.

Our dinner bowls were on the table, the leftover Mr. Noodles drying onto the white ceramic. It was just beginning to get dark and, after six-going-on-seven of them, I was sick of Disney movies.

"Hey Connor?" Meg asked. Her legs were thrown across my lap, her body lounging on the couch on a pile of pillows we had stolen from the various rooms in the apartment, huddled underneath blanket upon blanket.

"Hm?" I acknowledged.

"We should play a game," she said and shifted her position so she could see me clearer. Her unique violet eyes were tired looking but her skin was starting to regain some colour.

I looked at her quizzically. "What game?" I asked.

She bit her bottom lip. "What about Twenty Questions?" she asked and I laughed.

"What are we, in middle school?" I asked and her cheeks flamed in embarrassment.

She shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. She failed. "It could be fun, y'know."

"Okay," I said. "You start then. Ask me any question you'd like."

"Okay… What's the weirdest thing you've eaten?" she asked.

"I ate a deep fried worm once, does that count?" I asked.

Her face morphed into one of disgust. "Ew! Why the heck would you do that?"

I shrugged. "'Cause Travis told me to. Okay, question for you… Weirdest thing you've ever done in public?"

She tapped her chin idly, thinking. "Well, there was one time… Rowen dared me to plank on one of the food court tables for two minutes. That was pretty odd."

"That is," I remarked.

"I think she still has it on her phone. Okay, um, who was your first kiss?" she asked.

"Back to the middle school thing, I see," I said and she glared at me. I raised my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I surrender. Um, it was with an Apollo chick when I was twelve, I believe. What about you?"

"It was with this guy named Luis when I was fourteen. He was the school jock and we were at a party and we both didn't know that someone had spiked the punch," she said. "Have you ever, you know…?"

I flushed in embarrassment. "No, not yet. You?"

She shook her head. "I haven't really had a boyfriend, and after that one where I lost my first kiss to a world class jerk, I don't really like going to high school parties. So, I haven't really found the right moment to. Plus, I'm only seventeen and I've got a lot of life to live and I don't want to regret that. Sorry, I'm rambling aren't I? Anyway… What's your 'type'?"

I wiggled my eyebrows. "You interested, Meg?"

"Hell to the no," she said with a grin. I shoved her with my shoulder.

"Um, well, funny, for sure… Has to be able to joke around and take a joke for that matter… Someone who'll be there for me and won't judge me…" _Someone who's you, _I added in my head, but didn't say, because that would be incredibly cheesy. "Okay, um, who's Laura?"

Meg froze. "Laura…" she started slowly, "was Rowen's older half-sister. She was like a sister to me as well. She helped us with boy problems, with schoolwork… She was awesome. Two years ago, she was killed in a car accident between her and a drunk driver. She was only sixteen and she was one of the nicest, most giving people you would have ever met. I mean, we always joked that we would live longer than her because she was such an adrenaline junkie, but I never thought she actually would…die."

Meg's POV

He took my hand in his. "I know what you're going through," he said. "I lost a lot of friends in the two wars and then there was Luke… He was my older brother and he left Travis and I behind for Kronos. I know it was a lot harder for Annabeth, her thinking she was in love with him and all, but it still hurt. A lot."

"That sucks," I whispered. I noticed that our faces were drawing closer and closer with every word.

"Mmm…" he mumbled. Our noses were touching now. His brown eyes flicked back form my lips to my eyes nervously. I, strangely, wasn't nervous at all.

"New question… Do you like me, Connor?" I whispered. His eyes locked on mine.

His lips brushed mine as he spoke. "Yes."

Annabeth's POV

"That was good," Percy sighed in contentment.

"Meh, camp's better," I said quietly.

He rolled his eyes. "It's hard to beat the nymphs' cooking. There's only so much mortals can do."

"Paying separate or together?" Amy asked, and gave us all a fake smile. Between the twins and my demanding father, we had given her a difficult night.

"Us five," my dad said and gestured to Helen, the boys and I, "and those three."

"Okay," she said. "I'll be right back with the bill." She walked off, her hips swaying as she did so.

"So," Paul said awkwardly.

"So," Percy repeated. We locked eyes and started to laugh.

"Awkward," I sang and he laughed even harder.

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Oh gods, I love you," he said, still chuckling.

"What's so funny? I don't get it," Matthew whined.

I bit my bottom lip. "You're a little young to get it, Matthew. I'll tell you when you're older."

"But I'm in grade five now!" he said and crossed his arms across his chest.

My dad gave me a look that said, _Explain now, or we won't hear the end of this._

I sighed. "Percy and I were doing cabin inspection and we walked in on something I'd rather not mention. Don't worry it's not as bad as you're thinking. Still scarring, though. Anyway, after they had that sorted out… Well, you had to be there, never mind."

"I guess it was funny, because of who it was," Percy said. "Gods, I'll never look at Chris and Clarisse the same way again." He shuddered.

I rolled my eyes. The waitress stopped by the table and gave the bills to Paul and my dad. Sally placed a fifty-dollar bill on the table for the waitress.

"Shall we?" Helen asked and we all nodded. Percy pulled my chair out for me and I smiled at him. When I thought that no one was looking, I gave him a quick peck. We entwined our hands together and followed the group out the door.

Percy did his best taxi whistle and one stopped by the sidewalk. "We can't fit everyone in one," Sally said. "Why don't you-" she motioned to my dad "-Helen and the boys take another to our apartment. And then Percy and Annabeth take one more."

We nodded. My family got into the cab and they drove off down the street. Sally hailed another cab.

As her and Paul were getting into the cab, Percy stopped them and said, "Is it okay if we walk around for a bit? We'll be back before bedtime, I swear."

Sally nodded, "Just be safe, honey."

"No promises," Percy said with a grin. He looped his arm around my waist and we started down the darkening street.

"Where're we going, Seaweed Brain?" I asked and shivered.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted some time with you, is that okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, that's fine, but my family is leaving tomorrow."

"And we'll be at school tomorrow," he said and sighed.

I shrugged. "I actually don't mind that."

"Why?" he asked incredulously.

"Because," I said, "it's nice to do something normal for once." We continued walking in a comfortable silence.

He stopped suddenly under a light post. Light shone down on us, making Percy's eyes change from green to blue and back to green. I could see little moths and mosquitoes swirling around the light.

"I've always wanted to do this," he said quietly, "but I never got the chance." He grabbed my face gently, cupping my cheeks in his large hands. "But I do now." He kissed me slowly and gently.

Our lips moved in synch with each other. One of his hands slid down my side and rested on my hip. I rested my hands on his chest. He pressed his lips harder against mine and I gripped his sweater in my hands.

I pulled back and kissed his nose. "I love you."

"I love you too," he replied. "You look cold." He shrugged off his hoodie and handed it to me.

"Percy, you'll freeze," I protested.

He gave me _The Look._ "And so will you. Plus, I'm in pants. You're in shorts."

"Whatever. Gods, you're so annoying," I said and pulled the hoodie on. It was so big it hid my hands and fell to mid-thigh, nearly hiding the hem of my shorts.

"Like when I'm right," Percy smirked.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," I huffed and crossed my arms across my chest.

Percy hailed a cab. He opened the door for me and I slid in. The cabbie was a large-faced man with yellow teeth and no hair on the top of his head.

"Where to?" he asked. His voice was the voice of a long-term smoker, rough and winded.

"_Insert proper address here because the author doesn't have the books at her dad's house_," he said.

"You two're a little young to be walking 'round New York at time of night," he remarked gruffly.

Percy stiffened. "We're both seventeen," he said sharply.

The man snorted. "Still quite young. You have a lot of life to live." He turned the rearview mirror so we could see his washed out eyes in it. "Live it right."

Percy and I were speechless. The man didn't say anything else for the rest of the ride. Neither did Percy nor I.

A few minutes later, the man opened the door and drove away without his money. We walked to the apartment and saw that Travis, Helen, the boys, my dad, Sally and Paul were all standing outside the door, looking rather fed up.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Why aren't you going inside?"

Sally sighed exasperatedly. "Paul forgot his key inside the apartment and I gave mine to Percy and neither Connor nor Meg will let us in. We've rung the doorbell at least six times and Bobby and Matthew have been banging on it as well."

"Maybe something's wrong," Percy said.

"Wouldn't the mortals call the police, or something. I mean, if there was an attack, it would've been quite loud," I reasoned. "Besides, Connor can defend two people easily."

Percy shrugged and opened the door. We walked into the apartment.

"Meg?" I called. "Connor?"

When we got to the living room, Sally gave a loud gasp and the twins slapped their hands to their eyes. Travis just started laughing.

I honestly don't know why I was surprised.

Connor and Meg were on the couch, Meg almost in Connor's lap, kissing like there was no tomorrow. One was Connor's hands was tangled in Meg's hair and the other was wrapped around her back.

We all continued to gape at them (excluding Travis, of course) until Paul cleared his throat loudly.

Their mouths detached with a slight _pop!_

"So," Paul said loudly, "how was your day?"

* * *

**How about you humor me and leave a little review for me. Pretty please?**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW! (Man, I need a different sign off.)**

**-Lou**


	24. Chapter 24

**Wassup! Sorry, I'm not even supposed to be updating right now, but our camping plans kinda failed…miserably. We're leaving tomorrow, though! For five days, so no updates! Woo!**

**Questions:**

**Q: Do you know how to send messages without using a review?**

**A: Click on the user's name. Go to their profile. Click on 'Send PM' Type message. Voila!**

**Q: Have you ever done competitive swimming?**

**A: Nup. I was gonna, but I had to choose between swimming or dance, and I chose dance.**

**Q: Do you have a video of your dance group performing?**

**A: If you look up 'Saskatoon Mini Express' on YouTube or Google, there should be some, but not of me. But it is my dance studio.**

**Q: What is your favourite HP book?**

**A: The Deathly Hallows. A lot of people don't like it, but I really like the way J. K. Rowling wrapped it up.**

**Q: Netflix isn't illegal in the U.S.?**

**A: I know. But AMERICAN Netflix isn't allowed in Canada, which is where I live.**

**Q: Do you listen to music when you write? If yes, what type/bands/songs?**

**A: Yes, sometimes. I usually listen to Secondhand Serenade, OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, or Coldplay, but it depends on what type of mood I want the chapter to give off. First off, I need to get into that mood, so I need to listen to a certain style of music. Some songs I like are: **_**Home, I Will Wait, Ho Hey, Secrets, Demons, The Scientist, Fall For You. **_**Some others, too.**

**Q: Who is your fav POV to write?**

**A: Mmm… Probably Rowen or Sally.**

**Disclaimer: This. Is. Not. Mine.**

* * *

"Annabeth?" my dad asked me.

We were standing by the front door, saying goodbye to my family. Percy, Paul and I were just about to leave for school.

"Yeah, dad?" I said and he motioned for me to follow him.

"Listen, Annabeth," he said, "I think that this trip has been really good for us."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I agree."

"Well, I don't want to lose that progress with you. I don't want to grow apart again," he said and swallowed nervously. "What I'm getting at is that… I want you to come live with us again. Helen and I are gonna move to New York sometime after Christmas, in the New Year. It was going to be a surprise, but I wanted you to know. I want you to think on it."

I was speechless, I couldn't move. Move in with him? But, wouldn't that mean that I would have to leave Goode? And of course…

"What about Percy?" I asked. I licked my lips nervously. "Dad, I can't leave him."

He shut his eyes. "Just, please; think about it," he said. He enveloped me in a hug, squeezing me tight.

"I will," I said against his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too, Annabeth." I walked away, in some sort of stupor of indecision.

Percy quirked an eyebrow at me. "What did your dad want?" he asked.

I bit my lip. "I'll tell you later," I promised and he nodded.

Helen gave me a hug. I was taller than her by about four inches, so my head rested on top of hers. "Your dad talked to you, right?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes," I answered slowly.

I felt her nod. "Good," she said, "because I really want you to come live with us. I promise we won't be very far from here. A ten minute walk maximum."

I pulled back and nodded. Sally rescued me from an awkward silence by giving Helen a hug goodbye.

"Annabeth!" I heard two identical voices cry. The twins flung their arms around my hips and waist, hugging me furiously. "We're gonna miss you," Bobby said, his voice muffled against my hip.

I smiled at them. "I'll miss you, too," I said.

"I love you," Matthew said and I felt tears prickle in my eyes. "And I'm sorry for being mean to you."

I bit my lip and replied, "I love you guys, too."

They let go of me and went to see their mom.

"Well," Paul said, "we'd better get going." I nodded and we all exchanged some last minute goodbyes. Paul then ushered us out the door to get to the school on time.

Meg's POV

I stood outside the big double doors of Goode, twisting and untwisting my hands together in anxiety. I scanned the crowd, looking for a short, blonde-haired pair of twins.

I squeaked in surprise when I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around my waist.

"Hey, M," Connor whispered in my ear. He laughed and pulled back.

I turned to face him and gave him a hug. "Holy crap, you scared me," I whispered against his body. I was a, cough, short, cough, girl, only about five foot two inches, so he towered over top of me, even though he was only an inch taller than Annabeth.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "So, um, you wanna go…inside and stuff?"

"Where's your brother?" I asked and fumbled for his hand. He held open one of the double doors for me and I stepped inside, thanking him quickly.

He shrugged. "Don't know. I think he was picking something up before school… I don't know he left before me."

I nodded. "So, what did you do for the rest of the weekend?"

"Well, I pranked Jason and Piper and Leo. That was fun," he smirked.

"What'd you do?" I asked warily.

"I drugged them with sleeping pills and then Travis and I duct taped them to the ceiling," he said evilly.

I mouth hung open like a fish. "Are you serious? How the heck did you do that?"

He grinned, showing the back rows of his teeth. "All in due time, young cricket."

I opened the door to my locker. I pulled out my text and my binder. I stuck a pencil behind my ear and smiled at him. I punched him in the arm.

"I am not the cricket. You are. You are the cricket. I am the grasshopper," I said.

He rolled his eyes and took my hand in his. We stopped in front of my French classroom. He reached down and pressed his lips lightly to mine. His hands rested on my hips and I gripped his forearms

I pulled back and smiled at him. He gave me a lopsided grin. "Have fun," he said.

"Not really," I replied and he laughed.

I walked into the classroom and took my seat. Madame Rosales walked into the room. She had short, thick black hair, olive skin and Latina features. She wore a lot of colourful scarves around her neck and in her hair. Today she had a thin pink and green scarf tied around her head like a headband.

"Âllo, classe. Comment ça va?" she asked and gave us a stunning smile.

We murmured a tired reply. "Now really," she said in heavily accented English. "I come 'ere today and you're all tired. Now, we'll try again: Comment ça va, classe?"

"Bien, Madame," the class replied. We still sounded tired, but less like a Monday morning.

She then started to ramble on about French verbs (or, 'verbes'). She handed out work sheets and I fiddled with my pencil on my desk, tapping out a quiet rhythm. A guy, obviously a jock, shushed me and shot me a glare.

I rolled my eyes and tried to remember what the present tense for _avoir_ was.

When I walked out the classroom door, Connor was standing there, waiting for me. A smile graced his features when I gave him a little wave. I saw him wave back and was about to say something, but I was cut off by being shoved to the ground.

A boy with dirty blonde hair and cold brown eyes stood in front of me. His cronies behind him were laughing their heads off because I was on the ground. I stood up angrily and brushed the dirt off of my jeans.

I got in his face (well, tried to, he was a lot taller than me), and demanded, "Who the hell do you think you are!"

"I'm Matt Sloan. And you are?" he asked and checked out my body, undressing me as he went. I immediately cursed myself for wearing tight jeans and a form-fitting sweater.

"The girl you just shoved. Now answer me!" I said and crossed my arms over my chest angrily.

I felt a pair of hands grip mine from behind and uncross my arms for me. "Calm down, M," Connor mumbled in my ear. "I've got a better way to get back at him." Connor then turned to Matt Sloan and scanned him up and down. "Pft!" he scoffed. "Wow, you're the new kid everyone was talking about? Wow, and they said you were_ scary?_ Bro, my dog craps scarier stuff in the back yard."

"And who are you?" Sloan sneered, obviously peeved with Connor.

"Connor Stoll, at your service!" Connor said joyfully. "Now, why don't you go run along and play with your little friends, hm?"

Matt grunted, "I find it funny that _you're_ calling _me_ little, runt."

"Gee, never heard that one before. How long did it take you to come up with that one?" Connor asked and cupped his face with his hands, batting his eyelashes mockingly.

"Why I oughta-" Sloan was cut off by a bucket of goo pouring over his head. "What the actual fu-!"

"Mr. Sloan!" I looked behind me and saw Paul standing there in all his glory. "Perhaps you'd like to finish that lovely sentence for us?"

"No, sir… But, they poured this, this STUFF all over me!" he exclaimed.

"From what I heard you deserved it," Paul shrugged. "You may want to wash off, though. You don't want to be late for my class, now do you?"

"No, sir," Matt grumbled and pushed past us.

Connor gave Paul a hi-five. "That was awesome, Mr. Blofis! Hey, Travis, you can come out now!" Travis Stoll appeared out of no where, a Yankees cap in hand.

"Isn't that Annabeth's?" Paul asked and cocked his head at them.

"Yeah, so?" Travis asked.

Paul shook his head and chuckled, "You two have a death wish."

"Pft," Travis scoffed, "look at Percy. Compared to him, we're the most rational human, well, part human, beings in this whole universe."

"True," Paul mused. "Well, I'll see you guys later. I have to go get ready for my next class.

We waved him goodbye and walked to our lockers. Well, the boys walked with me to mine and bickered the whole way.

I was about to cut in when I heard an angry yell.

"TRAVIS STOLL! WHERE IS MY CAP?"

* * *

**Feel free to leave an awesome little review!**

**Live, Love, Laugh and REVIEW!**

**-Lou**


	25. IMPORTANT AN! DO NOT IGNORE!

Hey guys, it's me, Lou (obviously). I have some bad news…

I'm putting this story on HIATUS.

I am not deleting it! It's just on pause for now.

I'm really, really sorry, guys. It's just, I've lost all inspiration and, at first, it was really fun writing this and now it just seems like a chore.

I don't want my writing to be a chore.

Another reason for this is that my Papa just had a really serious heart attack that almost killed him Thursday night. He's 86, so they can't do anything drastic with him, but he's on the mend. But, if something like this does happen again, he might not make it out of it alive. I just really need to be with my family right now. We really need each other's love and support through this difficult time.

I have a bunch of ideas for new stories, all of them being AU's, but I was putting them on hold because of this one. So, hopefully those will be up sometime soon. Like, later today or tomorrow.

I really did think about this for a long time and I think that this is the best decision for me right now.

Again, this will not be discontinued, because I can see it going places, it is only on HIATUS.

I'm so, so sorry.

* * *

AND, because I love you guys, I will answer your awesome questions!

Q: Can you play instruments?

A: Does singing count?

Q: What other couples do you ship?

A: Mm…I ship Tratie, and all other canon. I really like Scorpius/Rose in HP. I like Link/Ridley in the Caster Chronicles. I don't know, so long as people write them well. I also like pre-series Thaluke.

Q: What other fandoms (other than PJO and HP) are you okay writing for?

A: Mmm… I don't know. I could try some Divergent Trilogy stuff, but I don't like the characters as much. I like doing PJO and HP because I hold them very close o my heart, mainly because I grew up with them.

Q: How many languages do you know?

A: I know, as of today, 2 and a bit languages. I know VERY Spanish, a titch of German, because my Papa speaks it fluently and he taught me some, and that's about it. I want to learn Italian, German and Spanish when I get older, though.

Q: Would you be angry if some of your fans suggested some ideas for new stories that if you wanted to, you could write?

A: Hell to the no! Go ahead, you guys! Send me requests! I have no creative ideas! If you want me to do a certain Percabeth oneshot for the Percabeth Archive, or something, PM me or leave a review for that story! If you have an idea for a multi-chap, again, send me a PM and I'll see what I can do for you! I am always open for requests! The only thing is, I won't do anything for a couple I don't ship, so, in other words, no Thalico.

Q: Out of all your characters you've created, who is your favourite?

A: I really like Mia. I mean, before, she was such a shallow character and now that she has some depth to her, I love writing her.

Q: Who is your favourite couple you created?

A: Well, I really like Rowen/Justin, just because they were best friends beforehand, and, as I said before, I love best friends to a couple relationships, because they seem the most real.

Q: Why do you like PJO so much?

A: I think it's because I really did grow up with it. I started reading the books when I was ten and I guess I never really realized how much it affected my life until I sat down and let my mind wander and thought about it.

Q: Favourite god or goddess?

A: Athena.

Q: Are you gonna involve Egyptian mythology?

A: No. To be honest, I don't really like the Kane Chronicles as much. They're good, don't get me wrong, but they aren't the best books in the whole world.

Q: What are some really good PJO fanfics that you recommend?

A: Um, well, Wolf's Law by TheLostRelic is SO good. All of you need to go read that. Now. Um, I really love Family by horse-crazy girl13 (I think that's how you spell her penname). Anything by TheLostRelic, really. If you like fluffy, 50 PJO Oneshots by annabethchase999 is cute. I have a list on my profile you can check out.

Q: Favourite Disney movie?

A: Alladin, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, The Lion King, The Lorax, or Alice In Wonderland. (Most of these are shows that I did. How sad is that?)

Q: Do you know how to send messages without using reviews?

A: Click on BLANK's profile. On BLANK's profile, there should be a little 'PM' button. Le click on that send BLANK a message! Magic!

* * *

Okay, done with all the Q&A. Wow.

Again, I'm so SO sorry for doing this. I feel terrible, you guys, but, like I said above, I really just need my family right now and they need me. 'Sides, I have a bunch of better and more well-written stories coming up.

I love you guys and thank you so much for all your love and support! Thank you for 1,381 reviews, 388 favs, and 559 follows.

I LOVE YOU!

-Lou

P.S. I am taking requests for oneshots, or short multi-chaps. Send 'em in!


	26. I'm So Sorry, You Guys :(

So, I have been thinking for a VERY long time about this, my lovelies, and I have decided to discontinue WYAAGTGS. I will leave the first one up, because I like it and it was actually GOOD.

Let me explain, please…

You see, when I first started writing, it was a hobby. It was something I enjoyed, and I still do, but, try as I might, I am unable to find ANYTHING to continue this sequel with. I have just been digging myself deeper and deeper into a hole, and now I need to get out or I'll suffocate or something.

Honestly, the sequel wasn't that good anyway. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but compared to _Home In You_ or the later chapters in _The Percabeth Archive_, it is immature, poorly written and completely lacking a plot.

I'll keep the first one, because it is the first long story I ever wrote, and there are a few people I really like in there that I don't want to see disappear.

Another reason for this is that I have a lot on my plate right now, and I really don't want this story on the back of my mind. You see, I just started high school a couple weeks ago, and though that may seem little to most, it IS stressful. And I have over seven hour of dance per week, plus extra rehearsals and duet rehearsals, so I rarely have free time.

My family's health is also not doing very well. A few weeks ago, my aunt had a heart attack and almost died, and then a stroke and almost died. She can barely talk now, and it's breaking my heart to watch her struggle for the right word and stutter out a sentence.

My grandpa is moving to a care home, which is a big change, because, being 87 years old, he can't move stuff on his own, so we need to do it for him.

My mom is also getting a lot more serious with her boyfriend of two years, and I won't go into detail about this, because it is really personal and I don't wish to advertise such things on the internet.

However, to make up for this, I have a proposal… How about I write a rather long epilogue (around 3000 – 4000 words) for the first story, where I will include details on Justin and Rowen, Meg and Connor, etc.?

I WILL NOT BE PUTTING THIS UP FOR ADOPTION! I had few people ask me if they could continue this, and, as much as I appreciate the gesture, I don't want people touching my work. If I want to scrap it, I will; I don't need someone else coming in to fix my mistakes.

Honestly, the only person I would feel comfortable adopting this would be Aggie, and I am CERTAIN she doesn't want to. At all.

Thank you all so much for all your love and support. I love you guys. I seriously do.

1465 reviews, 424 favourites, and 606 follows…

-Lou

P.S. If anyone wants to know certain information about certain characters, feel free to PM me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.


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